Ryan Phelps hasn’t hit many 3-pointers his junior season. The big man hasn’t had to, until Tuesday night.
Though he’s no stranger to the dramatic 3-pointer scene, the forward on the Bayfield High School boys basketball team has had more success scoring at the rim this year. But with the game in the balance Tuesday, Phelps took a pass from Keyon Prior and nailed a shot at the buzzer to give the Wolverines a 50-47 win against new Class 3A Intermountain League foe Montezuma-Cortez.
“Progress and finishing are key words for us,” BHS head coach Jeff Lehnus said. “I’m always pleased when those get rewarded. Some people may say it’s a lucky shot. But I don’t believe in luck. I believe if you work hard, you make your own luck.”
Phelps finished with 17 points. After the game, he joked with Lehnus about another shot he made at the buzzer in the 2015 state playoffs against Jefferson Academy to help his team take the game into overtime, where BHS eventually won.
“I asked him where I had seen that before,” Lehnus said. “He said, ‘But that was a bank shot.’ This one wasn’t a bank, I’ll give him that.”
BHS (9-6, 5-1 IML) trailed by four through stretches of the game. Despite a slow start, both teams picked it up, especially in the fourth quarter.
The Panthers (5-10, 2-4 IML) tied the game at 47 with a pair of free throws, and Lehnus was able to call timeout with 12 seconds left to talk about the situation. It was similar to the Wolverines’ last home game, a 59-56 win Jan. 20 against Pagosa Springs in which Prior hit the game winner at the buzzer.
This time, Prior passed the ball to Phelps, who used his superior height up top to get an open look at the basket.
Prior finished with 12 points, Hayden Farmer had 10, and Dax Snooks chipped in seven points and hit a big 3 in the fourth quarter.
Jasen Engel had 19 points for the Panthers.
BHS will turn its focus to a home game at 7 p.m. Friday against Monte Vista.
“It’s kind of the dog days of the season right now,” Lehnus said. “The next two weeks are big and loaded with challenges.”
With the Bobcats battling a flu bug, Johnny Valdez stepped up with 25 points, six steals and three assists to lead Ignacio to another league win.
IHS (8-3, 6-0 San Juan Basin League) was without two starters and two key bench players Tuesday night. Cole McCaw helped fill the void with 13 points, eight assists and four steals.
“We had kids out, some sick as a dog,” IHS head coach Chris Valdez said. “We were up 20 at halftime and 25 going to the fourth, but then it started to catch up to us.”
Valdez hopes his team can recover during a big week of games with Dolores on Thursday and at Norwood on Saturday.
Girls Basketball
Girls BasketballThe Wolverines came out on fire before cooling down. With only 23 points through three quarters, Bayfield scored more than it had the entire game in the fourth.
BHS (5-10, 1-6 IML) erased a 37-23 deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat the Panthers, 52-47. Savannah Kaufmann scored the game’s first basket and the last two points from the field to finish with 13 points and 11 steals, and she narrowly missed a triple-double by a couple of rebounds.
The BHS senior gave her team the lead with a steal and a basket that made it 48-47 in favor of the Wolverines. She then stole the inbounds pass of Montezuma-Cortez (1-14, 0-6 IML) and was fouled and made a free throw.
Courtney Bayles had 10 points, Taylor Morris scored nine, Kyle Baker had eight and Chloe Weybright scored seven with a pair of big 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.
Next up for BHS is a home game Friday against Monte Vista.
The flu bug bit the Bobcats’ girls team, too. But, just like the boys team, Ignacio High (8-3, 5-0 SJBL) found a way to cruise to another league win at Mancos (2-10, 1-7 SJBL).
Avionne Gomez scored 29 points and had seven rebounds to continue her stellar senior campaign. Payton Lyon had 11 points, and Larissa Gallegos had a big night with 10 rebounds and six points.
“Avionne missed a few days this week, but she came back and got on fire,” IHS head coach Shane Seibel said. “What was big for us was being able to get the rebounds.”
IHS has Dolores on Thursday and then a big showdown Saturday at Norwood.
“It’s a fun time of the year,” Seibel said.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
