Keyon Prior wasn’t having his best offensive game by a longshot. But, when the ball found his hands in a tie game with seconds remaining, the sophomore did what special athletes have a knack for doing.
Prior, from 5-feet behind the 3-point line, looked to pass the ball to Hayden Farmer, who was then supposed to pass to Ryan Phelps in a play Bayfield High School boys basketball head coach Jeff Lehnus designed in a timeout with 6.5 seconds remaining in a 56-56 game against Pagosa Springs.
But the Pirates defense rotated to cover Farmer, so Prior set his feet, looked toward the rim and let a shot fly. The ball found nothing but twine and sent Bayfield to a huge 59-56 home win against a Class 3A Intermountain League rival the Wolverines’ program is used to looking up toward.
Prior had missed his only other five shots from the field before the 3-pointer went in. He finished with eight points thanks to some big free throws, including two in the fourth quarter that gave BHS a 56-54 lead.
“Coach, people in the stands, teammates, they all kept telling me to keep shooting the ball,” Prior said. “They said my shot was there and it’s gonna fall. I just took the shot. It felt good and went in.”
As the buzzer sounded, fans stormed out of their seats onto the floor to celebrate with the Wolverines (7-5, 3-0 IML).
“We have a great community here in Bayfield,” Prior said. “I love the atmosphere and my peers and the energy they give us.”
The game went back-and-forth all night with nine lead changes. Bayfield struggled mightily offensively in the first half on 8-of-21 shooting from the field and 6-of-13 from the foul line. But the team got a big boost from McKay Wells, who scored all seven of his points in the first half to help prevent Pagosa Springs from building a lead.
The teams went into halftime tied at 24.
Phelps got going in the second half with 12 of his team-high 14 points. He was contested under the basket all night, so he found rhythm by picking up his dribble from mid-range and stepping through defenders for clean looks.
The defense of Dax Snooks was also critical for the Wolverines. He forced countless turnovers and pressured the Pagosa Springs guards into making tough plays.
“Just playing hard denial defense,” said Snooks. “Coach is teaching us that. More pressure leads to more turnovers, and turnovers is how we win the ball game.”
Pagosa Springs turned the ball over 15 times, none more critical than in the final 15 seconds. With the game tied at 56, Pagosa Springs tried to dribble and pass the ball around to take the final shot.
But the Wolverines forced a turnover and got set up before Lehnus’ timeout with 6.5 second to play.
Hayden Farmer also got hot in the second half for BHS. He made a pair of 3-pointers and scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half.
“I might start slow, but all I need is one shot to go in to get my confidence going, and I’m good to go for the rest of the game,” Farmer said.
Isaiah Griego and the Pirates (5-6, 1-2 IML) found success penetrating the lane against the Wolverines. So Lehnus switched his team into a 2-3 zone defense to try to deny that penetration. It worked in the game’s final minutes, but Griego still finished with a game-high 20 points.
“I’ve been playing with him since I was real little,” Phelps said of his matchup with Griego. “He’s a very good player; one of the best in our league. It’s nice to be able to beat him.”
Keaton Laverty finished with 14 points for the Pirates, including a three-quarters-court shot at the third-quarter buzzer.
The Wolverines are on a roll since beginning league play and will look for an even bigger road win at 3 p.m. Saturday at Alamosa (9-1, 3-0 IML). Lehnus and the rest of the IML coaches aren’t thrilled about playing late Friday games at home or on the road and then traveling the next day for early-afternoon games, but coming off a big win Friday will make the bus ride a bit more enjoyable Saturday morning.
“It was a special, special night for our team and the community,” Lehnus said. “When you have a young team like this and they can win a close game on their home floor and establish that, it’s big, especially because we host the league tournament this year.
“We want to establish something here, and they did that tonight.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
