Bayfield boys basketball continued its amazing one-year reversal of fortune by pulling out a 49-44 home win over Montezuma-Cortez this past Friday and then defeating Pagosa Springs 61-51 on the road the next night. Head coach Damon White Thunder knew his team had locked in at least a lower-middle place in the upcoming CHSAA Class 3A Boys Basketball State Tournament.
The Wolverines finished the season 15-8 overall and 8-4 in the 3A/4A Intermountain League, earning the No. 21 seed with a drastic improvement over their 3-17 (1-9) record last season. Official playoff brackets were released on Sunday, with White Thunder’s team heading to Centauri to play No. 12 Peyton (15-7 overall, 3-0 2A/3A Black Forest).
“We did get a good draw,” White Thunder said. “And we don’t have to travel very far – we get to go to Centauri, which is good … I guess. But you know, those last two games didn’t mean much as far as seeding, but I challenged (the Wolverines) to go into the postseason with some momentum – and we had two of the best games of our season.”
Tipoff against the Panthers, winners of eight straight (by an average of 28.9 points), is set for 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
PHS finished 15-7 last season, following a 75-52 loss on their home court to Salida in the Region VIII championship. Two of Peyton’s top three scorers in that game will lead the Panthers against Bayfield; current junior Michael Perry scored 12 points against SHS and classmate Bryce Love 11.
This season, Perry is averaging roughly 19 points per game, Love nearly 10 and Gatti just over eight. Junior Trent Gregg contributes roughly 11 points and a team-leading eight rebounds per outing.
“The turnaround, going from three wins last year to 15 so far this year … it’s been awesome,” White Thunder said. “The boys have been putting in a ton of time and it’s showing. Peyton, they’re tough. They’re a big team, a lot bigger than we are, but I think we’ve got something for ’em.”
