It's not often that one shot can more or less define an entire game.
But there was one last Saturday night before a near-capacity crowd inside BHS Gymnasium. It not only defined, but decided, the 3A Intermountain League Boys' District Basketball Tournament.
There was a sense of now-or-never for the event's hosts. They had just seen Alamosa junior Angelo Ramirez not only grab a vital defensive rebound but also draw a foul against Bayfield junior Ryan Phelps, then calmly sink two clutch free throws with 0:24.7 left in regulation to re-tie the score at 54.
But the Wolverines weren't about to rush their final possession.
Overtime against the Mean Moose was certainly preferable to a miss, offensive foul or other turnover which could have then allowed the ball to end up in the hands of either Ramirez, junior guard Noah Romero or senior guard Ryan Brubacher, with each having already drilled two three-pointers.
Ramirez's pair not only surprised BHS, but virtually kept Alamosa in the game early as Bayfield rode junior Hayden Farmer's quick six points to a 16-10 lead after eight heated minutes. Bayfield lead Alamosa 27-24 after a halftime trey by Farmer swished through at the buzzer.
Romero's treys came during the second and third quarters, which AHS won by a 28-23 margin. Brubacher's three-point basket fell during a fourth quarter in which he'd already logged 11 points.
Affording any Alamosa player the chance to be the hero wasn't an option.
Working the ball into the offensive end of the court, around the oh-so-tempting three-point arc and then back to the left wing, in front of the Moose bench, Bayfield sophomore guard Keyon Prior began dribbling back to the opposite wing.
But with time dwindling and no teammates open for a pass, Prior managed a right-to-left crossover dribble against Romero - who'd already crossed him up several times - and sped into the paint where he managed to slow down just enough to leap and lob a 10-footer over a defender, off the backboard's window.
It went in, and Bayfield won the league for the first time in 25 years.
"I saw him out of the corner of my eye," Prior said after the game of Romero. "So I leaned back a little so I wouldn't hit him - I kind of nudged him - enough to get a charging call. I'm just glad I hit the shot and helped my team!"
"He's an amazing player; I have much respect for Romero," he added, of going one-on-one with the similarly-athletic Mean Moose with the game on the line. "And, he's going to get his. So I've just got to forget about 'that play' and move on to the most important play - that's the next one."
Or in this case, the last one. Alamosa Head Coach Brandon Brubacher successfully called timeout with only 0:02.1 remaining, but though Ramirez was able to inbound the ball all the way to midcourt, senior Will Parkins' last-ditch three at the buzzer was off-target and BHS' players, coaches and supporters spilled onto the floor after having survived 56-54.
The win means Bayfield gets to host the state tournament's single-elimination Round-of-32 and Sweet 16 phases this weekend.
"What a neat experience, to do this in our place! And to host regionals now, what a special, special thing," said Bayfield Coach Jeff Lehnus, spent after two emotionally-taxing contests.
The Wolverines had downed Centauri 51-45 in the previous night's mistake-filled semifinal.
"I'm really happy for my senior - Brian (Mashak) - that gets to experience this, and it's special for our fans too," Lehnus continued.
"I'm excited about what we're going to continue to do."
"It means the world for me," Mashak said, wearing the net cut down during the celebration.
"We came out and showed our community what we could do. We love our community - we play for them, no one else really."
Phelps and Farmer each finished with 12 points to pace BHS, which hit eight threes to AHS' aforementioned six.
Junior guard/forward McKay Wells, given a starting spot in place of a banged-up Mashak, logged 11 points and Prior totaled 10.
Ryan Brubacher finished with a game-high 19 points, Romero recorded 15 and Ramirez 13 in the thrilling defeat.
As a team, Alamosa (18-3) sank 12 free throws in 15 tries, bettering BHS' 6-of-10 mark.
Bayfield's boys indicated the most important factor in the win may have been the mental aspect. "Alamosa's a great team," Prior said.
"The past few years they've just clobbered us, and we got sick of it. We've been scared, and we decided that we're not going to play with fear anymore; we're going to play our game."
Added Mashak: "We've been practicing for Alamosa for quite some time now. We knew we would face them here, and we just came out and shot our shots!"
Rewarded by CHSAA's "Selection Sunday" committee the next day with the 32-team state field's #5 seed, Bayfield will next duel 28-seed Delta (12-10) at about 6:30 p.m. Friday, after a pairing certain to have fans, players and coaches pondering a possible fourth go-round this season between the Wolverines and Moose.
In Friday's 5 p.m. game, 12-seed Alamosa will face #21 Rye (14-9).
The winners of both games play Saturday afternoon for a berth in next weekend's "Great Eight" inside the University of Denver's Hamilton Gymnasium.
"I love these experiences!" Prior said. "The crowd's in it, the whole community's here...it's just amazing."
"We're super excited," Mashak said.
"We've worked our butts off for this all season. Can't wait!"
