McKay Wells found an opening in the lane and converted in the closing seconds of regulation to lift the Bayfield High School boys basketball team to a 44-42 victory against Salida Friday night at the Buena Vista Invitational in Buena Vista.
Salida’s Parker Quintana had a look at 3 from the right wing at the buzzer, but the shot was off target.
Bayfield (1-2) had a hot start to the game and held an 18-8 advantage after the first quarter, but Salida (2-3) slowly clawed back to make the game interesting.
“We started well but didn’t sustain it,” BHS head coach Jeff Lehnus said.
“We’re still not where we want to be yet and we’re working on getting a consistency of everything. It felt like we let off the gas pedal a little bit and we just had a hard time hitting shots.”
Lehnus added that the Wolverines had bad shot selection at times, but he was proud of the defensive performance to keep the game in the 40s.
Hayden Farmer led the Wolverines – ranked ninth in the Colorado High School Activities Association coaches poll – with 13 points behind three made 3-pointers. Ryan Phelps added nine, and Keyon Prior and Dax Snooks finished with six points each.
BHS will face defending class 3A state champion and No. 1 ranked Sterling (4-0) in the tournament at 1 p.m. Saturday. Lehnus said Sterlings’ size will be a major challenge for the Wolverines to deal with.
“We watched them and they have kids 6-(foot)-8, 6-(foot)-7 and 6-(foot)-7, and they have good guards and depth,” he said. “The guys need to come out and compete and I know they will. ... They have what we want to get to and that’s a state championship.”
Girls High School Basketball
The Wolverines couldn’t come up with an answer for Grand Valley’s Shaya Chenoweth, who led the Cardinals to a 47-41 win against the Bayfield High School girls basketball team Friday at the Buena Vista Invitational in Buena Vista.
Chenoweth, a junior guard, dropped 32 points on the Wolverines. She made three 3-pointers and was 7-of-11 at the free-throw line.
Bayfield (1-1) jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead, but the advantage evaporated, and the last time the Wolverines held the lead was at 8-7 in the first quarter.
The Wolverines trailed 38-29 entering the fourth quarter and cut Grand Valley’s lead to one possession at 42-39 before the Cardinals (2-1), out of Parachute, closed out the game for the win.
Juniors Tymbree Florian and Jordan Lanning led Bayfield with 13 and 10 points, respectively, and freshman Halle Loveday added seven points.
BHS will play Jefferson Academy (1-1) in the tournament at 10 a.m. Saturday.
The Durango High School girls basketball team was on the wrong side of a close contest with Harrison (1-2) and fell to the Panthers 38-34 Friday at the 22nd Hornet Holiday Tournament in Pueblo.
DHS head coach Tim Fitzpatrick said the game was close the whole way and neither team stretched a lead to more than six points.
He added the Demons struggled to shoot the ball, which led to the low-scoring affair.
Hilda Garcia led the Demons (1-4) with 14 points in the loss.
Destiny Trujillo paced the Panthers with 18 points.
Durango will play Air Academy (3-0) at the tournament at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
kschneider@durangoherald.com
