You win some and then you lose some. So is the case for the Bayfield High School boys basketball team, which came off a huge upset over Ignacio High School but came out flat against the Pagosa Springs Pirates in a league matchup.
The game was close for its entirety, but Pagosa Springs proved too resilient down the stretch for a 52-40 win.
Bayfield (5-8, 0-3 3A Intermountain League) didn’t have the same fire it did against Ignacio, and it showed. Pagosa Springs (9-4, 3-0 IML) was able to neutralize seniors Zane Phelps and Taed Heydinger all night. Phelps was held to 11 points and only three rebounds, which was far from his 26 point, 15 rebound outing against Ignacio. The Pirates also held Heydinger, Bayfield’s leading scorer, to just three points all night. In the end, it came down to free throws, and the Wolverines shot just 17-for-27 from the charity stripe.
“We came out flat, and we knew that it was going to be tough after coming off that huge Ignacio win, but we don’t feel like this is a bad loss, and we know what we need to work on, so we can come back stronger from this,” said Heydinger, son of Chris and Tim Heydinger. “We had an off-shooting night, and they also moved it slower than Ignacio did, and we weren’t used to that, and that’s what threw us off.”
Despite having three players score in double-digits with Keyon Prior holding onto 10 points, there was a steep drop-off in offensive production.
Both teams finished with 17 rebounds and 11 turnovers. Bayfield had seven steals and four blocks, while Pagosa Springs had five steals and three blocks. All of Bayfield’s blocks came from sophomore Ryan Phelps, who finished with 12 points and five rebounds. Ryan Phelps went 6-of-12 from the foul line.
“It was the offense that struggled,” Bayfield head coach Jeff Lehnus said. “We put up some poor shots at times with some poor choices. Look at how many free throws that were missed out there. We earned more free throws than them.”
At the end of the first half, Pagosa Springs hung to a 21-20 lead but stretched that into a 36-30 lead by the end of the third quarter. Bayfield’s inability to convert free throws proved to be its undoing, as neither team shot well. When the Pirates reached a 38-31 lead, Pagosa Springs exploited Bayfield’s zone defense by playing in a stretched out zone offense and decided to play keep away from Bayfield and milked the clock. The Wolverines didn’t have an answer to the strategy.
“Bayfield is a really good basketball team,” Pagosa Springs head coach Randy Sorenson said. “They’re only going to get better and better. You have to give them credit. I’m proud of our kids, they hung around in the game then found a way to put them away at the end. They found a way to win in a tough place. We still have a ways to go. This is our third league game on the road and we’ve been able to pull off those wins.”
Craig Tamburellie led Pagosa Springs with 16 points with the bulk of his points coming late in the game and at the free throw line, going 6-for-7. Blair Erskine finished with 13 points and five rebounds, and Isaiah Griego finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.
Bayfield is on the road when it takes on Centauri at 7 p.m. Friday at Centauri High School.
jmentzer@durangoherald.com
