Nine-tenths of a second remained in the game, with Bayfield up 47-44. BHS senior Cooper Roderick was at the free throw line with a chance to ice the game against Pagosa Springs.
Roderick wasn’t fazed by the pressure, sinking both free throws and putting an end to any potential comeback attempt by PSHS. Bayfield earned its fourth straight win with a 49-44 victory, improving its record to 10-5 and 4-1 in the 4A/3A Intermountain League. Pagosa, meanwhile, dropped to 4-11 and 2-3 in the 4A/3A IML.
Pagosa was behind from the beginning of the game thanks to two 3-pointers from Roderick and Bayfield junior Kingston Martinez. Another 3-pointer from Roderick and six points from senior Isaac Forsythe helped Bayfield end the first quarter up 18-13.
Bayfield senior Lincoln Williams then scored his first five points and Roderick added another five, but the Pirates commenced their comeback on the strength of 7-of-7 free-throw accuracy and two buckets from junior Ty Richey, closing the lead to 32-26 at halftime.
Neither team could get much going on offense in the third quarter, with both teams denying any second-chance opportunities through effective rebounding. But Williams took charge and scored eight points as BHS’ lead regrew to 44-31 at the end of the third quarter.
Pagosa didn’t give up, staging a late comeback and reducing the Wolverines’ lead to 46-44 with 42.9 seconds left in the fourth quarter. PSHS junior Creede Dozier, one of the top shooters in the Intermountain League, airballed a 3-pointer with nine seconds left. Bayfield was nearly able to dribble out the rest of the game, but Roderick was fouled with 0.9 seconds left and hit both free throws, clinching BHS’ home win.
“That’s a deep shot,” sophomore Cameron Queen said, of Dozier’s long-range launch. “We had Lincoln (Williams) on him; probably the best defender in the state, I’d say, and … when you have him up in your face it’s a tough night.”
Scoring all five of Bayfield’s fourth-quarter points, Roderick finished with a game-high 18 points. Not far behind, Williams totaled 14 while Forsythe finished with eight.
Ending up a crucial 11-of-13 from the foul line, senior Seth Zeigler totaled 17 points to pace Pagosa. Jaxten Scheil (4-5 FT) totaled 10 points.
“We have a lot of momentum going in,” said Forsythe. “We’ve got good game plans from coach. We’ll be ready. We’re playing like a team right now. Last year … we were more focused on ourselves, but this year, we’re showing what we can do and I think the state needs to look out for us.”
The Wolverines visited Montezuma-Cortez (12-4, 4-1) on Saturday while the Pirates (4-11, 2-3) hosted skyrocketing Centauri (15-0, 5-0). Results were unavailable at press time.
