Bayfield outscored Monte Vista 35-5 in the third quarter, and that was all the Wolverines needed to pull away for a lopsided league win.
Led by Hayden Farmer’s double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds along with relentless pressure defense, the Bayfield High School boys basketball team (10-6, 6-1 3A Intermountain League) stormed past Monte Vista (4-11, 0-7 IML) for a 92-58 win.
“It’s neat to when you see scores in the 90s or 100, but we held off trying to work the ball around so the game didn’t get too out of hand,” BHS head coach Jeff Lehnus said. “It was a solid effort. We’ve been getting off to slow starts, but we cut down turnovers and rebounded better and met objectives.”
With only three more games before hosting the league tournament, BHS wanted to meet the challenge of playing its best going into the stretch run.
Lehnus challenged Farmer to get more aggressive rebounding, and the sophomore rewarded him Friday.
“It was a good response to what I’m helping him to be for us,” Lehnus said. “He’s capable of it.”
As a team, BHS went 12-of-15 from the free-throw line to continue its improvement in recent games in that department.
Dax Snooks lit up the scoreboard from behind the 3-point line, as he made four long-range shots to finish with a team-high 17 points. Turner Kennedy was back in form with 15 points with three made 3s. Ryan Phelps also had 16 points and six rebounds.
Next week is huge for the Wolverines, who will visit Pagosa Springs on Tuesday before hosting league-leader Alamosa at 7 p.m. Friday. BHs is asking fans to wear purple to the Alamosa game.
“We’re focused,” Lehnus said. “This is a big week, and we’ll be prepared for this stretch.”
The Demons played their most consistent game of the season, and it showed on the scoreboard Friday.
Durango High’s varsity team was less than two weeks removed from a 56-47 home loss to Grand Junction Central. But the Demons had a strong second half in that game and took that into Friday night’s road showdown with the Warriors.
Behind a balanced offense and a zone defense that made adjustments from the previous matchup, the Demons (13-3, 1-2 4A/5A Southwestern League) secured a 61-52 win against Central (14-6, 4-2 SWL).
“Huge bounce back from last weekend with a tough loss at Fruita, and Telluride we didn’t play so well,” DHS head coach Alan Batiste said. “We were able to stay consistent all game. Most complete game we’ve had all year.”
Batiste said the Warriors were confused by the Demons’ defense. Durango sagged off and clogged the driving lanes, which forced Central into more quick jump shots. The result was rebounds and DHS baskets in transition.
Malik Liggins was inserted into the starting lineup and rewarded his team with 11 points. Steven Wyman led DHS with 19 points, and Kyle Kirkpatrick scored 16. Kobe Szura also scored 10 points.
“Great nucleus of guys stepping up on offense,” Batiste said.
DHS has a big Class 4A showdown at Montrose on Saturday afternoon.
“It’s our rivalry game, and it’s a huge one,” Batiste said. “We want to control our destiny in this league.”
Girls Basketball
Girls BasketballLeading 28-25 going into the fourth quarter, the Durango girls basketball team couldn’t hold off the Warriors.
Jayda Walker-Towles scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to lead Grand Junction Central to a 51-44 win. She did most of her damage at the free-throw line.
“We shot 19 free throws and they shot 31,” said DHS assistant coach Orlando Griego. “The majority of their points came from the line.”
Katrina Chandler led DHS with 21 points. Hilda Garcia had seven, while Stephanie Basye and Taylor Edwards each had six.
At halftime, the scored was tied at 16.
“We were unable to score a whole lot,” Griego said. “We didn’t do a very good job of rebounding, and they were being more aggressive.”
This was the weekend DHS had circled on its calendar all year, and it has a chance to split the weekend with a showdown Saturday at Montrose.
“They’re ranked ahead of us right now in the polls,” Griego said. “It’s the biggest weekend of the year, and the goal now is to split.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
