For a packed house dressed mostly in black in “The Jungle” at Montezuma-Cortez High School, the Panthers and Wolverines added another nail-biting finish Monday in a rivalry that has been decided by a single basket in four of the past eight matchups.
A year after M-CHS stormed back from eight down to upend the Wolverines in overtime, Bayfield overcame a seven-point deficit in the final two minutes to win a 61-59 thriller and pick up their first Intermountain League win. They also evened their win-loss record against M-CHS at 4-4 for those past eight games.
Bayfield senior Isaac Ross led the comeback with go-ahead free throws with less than 20 seconds remaining to give Bayfield (4-11, 1-5 3A IML) their third lead of the game at 60-59.
The free throws came after three consecutive Panther turnovers in the final two minutes that turned into Bayfield buckets during a 9-0 run that erased a 59-52 M-CHS lead.
Not to be denied, M-CHS (4-10, 0-6 3A IML) attacked the basket in the final moments, but two empty trips at the free-throw line allowed the Wolverines to stay in front.
Bayfield junior Jackson Queen started the rally moments after Panthers senior JT Carver, who hit six 3-pointers on the night, ignited the crowd with three consecutive threes and appeared to set up M-CHS for its first IML win.
But as coach Mike Hall’s Panthers tried to milk the clock, the Wolverines’ midcourt trap forced the turnovers that fueled their comeback.
M-CHS led for 29 of the 32 minutes, heating “The Jungle” from the opening possession, when junior Austin Wood buried a corner three. M-CHS rode the wave of early momentum, outscoring Bayfield 22-14 in the opening eight minutes with points from six Panthers.
Bayfield turned the tide in the second quarter, as the game began to ebb and flow. Trailing by their largest deficit – 11 points – midway through the second, Bayfield coach Klint Chandler challenged his team to be more aggressive to the rim.
The change paid off as four Wolverines scored in an 8-0 run that cut the margin to 31-30.
M-CHS led 34-32 at halftime, but the Wolverines were clearly more excited as they headed into the locker room.
The contest became cagier in the third quarter, as if the rivals hunkered down for the big finish. Bayfield junior Caden Wood put back a pair of offensive rebounds to keep the Wolverines within a bucket.
M-CHS’ Sawyer Smith scored five quick points to build the Panthers lead to 44-38, but Bayfield’s Lance Mazur answered with a run of his own, scoring six of the final eight points in the third quarter to give Bayfield a 46-44 lead heading to the final frame.
Ross’ jumper with five minutes left gave Bayfield their largest lead of the game, 52-48.
Cue the penultimate run – Smith knocked down a jumper in response, kicking off an 11-0 Panther run with Carver’s sharpshooting that appeared to knock the wind out of Bayfield.
However, a series of attacking floaters in the lane and defensive heroics gave Bayfield the final laugh.
“We settled down after the first quarter,” said Chandler. “It took a conversation, but we knew that we needed to be attacking the basket more.”
The Panthers’ Carver led all scorers with 21 points. Smith added 11 and senior Trinidad McDonell, 7.
Mazur, a junior, paced the Wolverines with 18 points. Queen and Wood added 12, and Ross added 10.
“ (Lance) Mazur has been playing really well the past three or four games,” said Chandler.
The two teams will scarcely have the chance to catch their breath before the rematch in Bayfield on Friday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. Bayfield will have Grand Junction Central for a Thursday night contest as part of their three home games in three days, with Centauri capping the gauntlet on Saturday afternoon.
“After this one, the kids are excited,” added Chandler, “which is important, given our youth – we’re hoping to build off it into the challenging stretch of games ahead.”
For the Panthers, the game in Bayfield kicks off a challenging IML weekend. The Panthers return to Cortez for their final home game of the season, against Alamosa on Saturday, and a chance to avenge a 48-47 loss to the Mean Moose on Jan. 28.
