The Bayfield High School boys basketball team continued its hot start in Class 3A Intermountain League play, as it held Pagosa Springs to only eight second-half points in a 47-28 win Friday night in Pagosa.
The Wolverines (9-4, 4-0 IML) got off to a fast start in the third quarter after being up only 22-20 at halftime, as they closed the quarter on a 11-3 run to lead 33-23. In the final frame, Bayfield pulled away behind a stellar night at the charity stripe, where it went 10-of-11.
“I thought we gambled a little bit in the first, played solid in the second, and kept them in front of us,” Chandler said. “Ethan (Morris) and Matt (McSweeney) did a good job against (Snarr), and they limited him to six in the second half.”
BHS got scoring from its usual suspects, as Turner Kennedy had a team-high 14-point performance, Ethan Morris had nine, and Hayden Farmer and Keyon Prior each had eight, as all of Farmer’s baskets would come in the first quarter.
Pagosa Springs (8-6, 2-3 IML) was led by junior center Mason Snarr, who scored a game-high 18-points and got the Pirates off to a solid first quarter with nine of his team’s 11 points. The offense dried up in the second half, as BHS picked up its defensive intensity and held the Pirates to three points in the third quarter and five in the fourth.
Bayfield is in the midst of four games in a six-day span and will travel for a 4 p.m. Saturday game at rival Alamosa. BHS will meet the Mean Moose for the second time in four days. Bayfield hosted Alamosa and won 62-56 on Tuesday night.
Chandler told his team to enjoy the win, but said that Saturday’s game will be a different type of test.
“Any time you can get a win on the road in this league, it’s big,” Chandler said. “Knowing how Tuesday ended, it’s the second time in a few days, so I’m sure it’ll be a hostile crowd. I told the boys to enjoy the win, but tomorrow will really test us. We just have to keep up the energy.”
Girls Basketball
Girls BasketballThe Bayfield High School girls basketball team looked to play spoiler against the Colorado High School Activities Association’s Class 3A third-ranked Pagosa Springs Pirates on Friday night in Pagosa. With only three points in each the second and fourth quarters, the Wolverines were stopped in their tracks, as Pagosa won 57-21.
Pagosa Springs (11-2, 5-0 IML) got a stellar performance out of junior point guard Hailey Griego, who scored 17 of the team’s 28 points in the first half, as the Pirates took an eight-point first quarter lead and stretched it to 18 with a 28-10 advantage at halftime.
Bayfield (5-6, 2-2 IML) could not crawl out of the deficit in the second half and was outscored 29-11 in the two quarters. The Wolverines finished with eight total field goals, two of which came from 3-pointers from Brooke Merchant.
BHS was led by Tymbree Florian, who finished with eight points, while Merchant had six and Cayanne Carlson had four.
Bayfield will travel to Alamosa for a 1:30 p.m. Saturday tip-off against the Mean Moose at Alamosa High School. The Moose beat the Wolverines 63-30 on Tuesday night in Bayfield.
bploen@durangoherald.com
