Fit the Bayfield High School boys basketball team for blue dresses and glass slippers – Cinderella’s going to the ball.
The Wolverines secured their second consecutive upset of the CHSAA Class 3A State Championships, 69-61 over No. 12 Eaton on Saturday in Thornton.
BHS (13-10) didn’t start the game on fire, though, and trailed 14-6 after the first quarter.
“We’re getting to a place where the kids aren’t used to being. They came out a little shaky,” BHS head coach Jeff Lehnus said. “It got to us a little bit. To their credit, as they’ve been doing, they focused, they believed, and they got the job done.”
The Wolverines cut their deficit to 25-22 at halftime and made their run in the third quarter.
BHS outscored Eaton (15-9) 47-36 in the second half.
“We boxed out better in the third quarter. That’s something we weren’t doing a good enough job of,” Lehnus said. “The margin of victory would have been larger, but they banked in a 3 and had some crazy stuff happen. Another solid effort and a convincing one.”
BHS shot 51 percent from the field and grabbed 35 rebounds.
Zane Phelps returned to his double-double form for his seventh of the season with 18 points and 12 rebounds, both of which led the team.
“I almost knew he was going to have a great night because the one other game he had a bad game, his next game he had 19 points,” Lehnus said.
Conner Kennedy also hit double figures with 13 points.
The senior point guard also only turned the ball over once against Eaton’s game-long press.
“He’s doing a better job running the show. He’s being more aggressive,” Lehnus said. “He’s had to work hard this year to get to this point.”
Six Wolverines scored at least eight points.
The Wolverines will play No. 4 Colorado Academy in the third round Thursday at Colorado School of Mines in Golden.
BHS hasn’t advanced to the Great 8 since 1986.
“One thing is to be consistent about our approach,” Lehnus said. “We’ll do the same thing we did last week.”
kgrabowski@durangoherald.com