Even Bayfield head coach Jeff Lehnus had to roll his eyes in disbelief a bit Tuesday night after seeing another stampede of fans surge onto the BHS Gymnasium court following an answered prayer at the buzzer.
"Yeah, that's the way we plan it every night-to have to make a game-winning shot!" he deadpanned afterwards. "But like I told the boys, it ain't going to go perfect every night, so do you find a way to win?"
That 'way' almost was another Keyon Prior three, which had recently stunned Pagosa Springs after a similar so-so first-half showing. Montezuma-Cortez tried for a fourth-quarter rally, an impressive response to the Wolverines' 21 points in the third quarter.
But on Tuesday, Prior found himself well-guarded and had no choice but to look for help. Popping out from the foul line to straight away behind the three-point arc, junior forward Ryan Phelps was Prior's only option.
With no time to think, and receiving Prior's pass under duress himself, Phelps forced up a flat three over a defender and swished the incredible shot as time expired for a 50-47 win in 3A Intermountain League action.
"Give Cortez credit," Lehnus noted. "This is a good team; we didn't underestimate them."
"But to keep your composure when you're not having a great game and find a way to win is really important, especially when, you know, you start getting into the 'dog days' right now," he continued. "And there was some frustration shown a little out there tonight, but they got themselves back together, regrouped, took one possession at a time, and went from 15 points in one half to 50, where we ended up."
Phelps finished with seven points in the fourth and a game-best 17. He had all of Bayfield's first-quarter points as M-CHS successfully slow-played their way to a three-point lead after eight minutes. After two fouls sent Phelps to the bench, the Panthers (5-10, 2-4 IML) managed to increase their lead slightly to 19-15 at halftime while also boosting their own spirits.
Up 14-12 late in the second quarter, senior center Braden Keetch somehow out-leapt two Wolverines to clean up and slam down a missed shot, igniting the visitors' fans and inducing a Lehnus timeout with 2:10 left.
"Yeah, we got a bit of momentum off of that; it gave us a little push," said senior Quanah Casey, who'd later help set the tempo down the home stretch, "and we got a good start after that."
But after Prior and sophomore forward Hayden Farmer had combined for all 11 of BHS' second-quarter points, the home side began dictating policy after halftime. Junior Dax Snooks started the third with a steal and basket, and senior Brian Mashak followed with two of Bayfield's six free throws (in as many attempts) in the quarter.
Set up by a Prior takeaway, a Farmer layup tied the game at 21, and a Farmer jumper not long after put the Wolverines (9-6, 5-1) up 25-23. The Panthers answered back, forcing Phelps to re-tie the contest at 29 with 1:40 left, and Prior emphatically closed out the quarter with a clutch three for a 36-30 lead.
And really, that marked the battle's true beginning.
Snooks started the fourth with a basket, and Casey replied with a three. Snooks (7 points) then connected from long range, only to then see Casey (6 points) drain another and M-CHS junior Obed Simental (9 points) cash one himself to even the game at 41-41 before both sides subsided, intentionally or not.
"Came out shooting pretty good, had pretty good defense, but there was nothing we could really do with great shooters like them," Casey lamented.
"Our rebounding wasn't as good as we emphasize; we'll have to get back to work at that," said Lehnus. "But I was pleased with less turnovers tonight. At least for one night we finally got it down; that's important to us."
Keetch (8 points) put Montezuma-Cortez up 45-43 with 4:04 remaining, but after attempts to kill the clock achieved hardly anything more than that, a tough Phelps leaner in the lane tied the game at 45 with 1:10 left. With 30 seconds left, Phelps whipped a beautiful no-look pass from the top of the arc down to Farmer about three feet from the rim, and Farmer's easy conversion put Bayfield up by two.
M-CHS junior Jasen Engel, who logged a team-high 16 points despite being the focus of BHS' defense, coldly canned two free throws with 0:12 remaining to knot the contest again at 47-47, but there was even more time available to the Wolverines for a last-second opportunity than against PSHS.
"As far as the last shot goes, we had a design," Lehnus said. "But with the lack of panic, we got it to Ryan, enough height to get the ball up, to have a chance! That's not by accident, and he hit the big shot!"
"I don't believe in luck; I tell the boys I believe you make your own luck," he added. "In other words, we came down, we didn't panic, and we wound up getting a good-effort shot up - at least gave ourselves a chance! And we got rewarded, this time, with the bucket."
Prior finished with 12 points and Farmer 10, and junior Carl Heide's two third-quarter FT's accounted for BHS' remaining points. From the charity stripe, Bayfield was 8-of-9 while Montezuma-Cortez finished 10-18.
Up next, the Wolverines will welcome Monte Vista (4-10, 0-6) tonight at 7 p.m. Cortez will visit Centauri (8-7, 2-4) while plotting for payback out in Montezuma County on Valentine's Day.
"I'm real pleased," summarized Lehnus, "and this is great confidence-building. If we play defense, our goal is always 48 points or less, and we held them to 47, so there you go! They were quick to remember that."
"While our big gun (Phelps) was down, the team hung in there and didn't let it get out of control. And then in the second half we were able to come back, not worry about foul trouble."
"Had to work out of a malaise, a funk, a little tonight, you know? The second half, we started to do that. When they rally around each other when they're kind of struggling, that's the beauty of it-if they can do that-and I'm pleased for them that they got it tonight."
