CONEJOS COUNTY – The Bayfield boys basketball team may have played Centauri tight on the scoreboard during the second and third quarters of the teams’ showdown Saturday afternoon in the 3A Sweet 16 state playoff game. But the Wolverines still trailed by 21 points when the final frame inside CHS Gymnasium commenced.
But after outscoring the Falcons 7-0 during the last 2:54 of the third, clipping the La Jara locals’ lead down to 49-28, BHS couldn’t generate any more heat during the fourth quarter and saw its hopes of reaching the state tournament’s Great Eight extinguished, with a 61-32 loss.
Senior guard Cooper Roderick scored the guests’ four points in the fourth and totaled 11 to pace No. 21 seed Bayfield (16-9 overall). Junior Kingston Martinez knocked down a 3-pointer in the second and third quarters and finished with 10 points, while sophomore reserve Drew Jepson sank both his treys during the third quarter and totaled eight points.
No. 5 Centauri quickly broke an early 2-2 tie and led 18-3 after the opening eight minutes.
Having made two threes during the first quarter, senior Troy Sowards’ third triple increased CHS’ advantage to 22-3 before Roderick converted an ‘and-one’ opportunity, resulting from a Forsythe defensive rebound and long outlet pass, with 4:25 left until halftime.
Malone then converted a steal into his only basket – bringing BHS back to 22-8 – with 3:07 remaining, but the Wolverines would get no closer than 26-13 (via five Martinez points) before Falcon senior Carson Bagwell drilled a three with 0:22 to go, then added a two-point putback of an offensive board just before the buzzer. Centauri led 31-13 at halftime.
Junior Carson Shawcroft began the third quarter with a 3-pointer, then made another with 5:20 left, giving CHS a 41-18 lead before Jepson canned a three. Bagwell, however, promptly answered from downtown, and the Falcons put the game out of reach, 49-21 when senior reserve Kamryn Garcia made three free throws after Bayfield senior Chad Vasgird fouled him on an unlikely 3-point attempt.
Finishing with four of CHS’ 10 treys, Bagwell ended up with a game-high 15 points. Sowards totaled 11 points, senior Jace Haslett and Garcia (4-5 FT) each booked 10. The Falcons (25-0 overall) followed up a 62-41 win of No. 28 Kersey Platte Valley the previous day and clinched the Region V title.
The Wolverines advanced to the Sweet 16 after beating No. 12 seed Peyton 51-48 on Friday. The Wolverines held a slim 25-23 lead over the Panthers (15-8 overall) through two quarters, then began the fourth up 40-32.
Forsythe and Malone each buried two 3-pointers during the first half and Roderick made his second during the third quarter as BHS had totaled nine treys by quarter’s end. Still, PHS never went away and pushed the Wolverines until the very end; Peyton closed to 46-45 with barely a minute remaining in regulation and pressed the issue until time expired.
Individual scoring totals had not been verified by press time.
