After winning their first game of the Four Corners Classic on Jan. 6, the Bayfield Wolverines didn't fare as well against 4A Durango on Saturday night.
After encountering similar full-court pressure which they themselves had used to subdue Pine River Valley neighbors Ignacio the previous evening, the 3A Wolverines somehow managed to thrive off the same current in the second half, even after junior standout Ryan Phelps picked up his fourth foul with 3:28 left in the third quarter.
"We didn't play with our normal kind of aggressive, and you know, good decision-making ... process that first half," said Bayfield Head Coach Jeff Lehnus. "We missed some shots too, but beyond that, we won the second half if you take away the throw-up three when we backed off, no worries on that. We just didn't play our game, first half, overall."
Down 17-8 after one quarter and 36-17 after two, BHS outscored the Four Corners Tournament's hosting crew 21-19 after intermission in falling 55-38. The Wolverines finished 1-1 at the two-day assembly of southwestern Colorado's four largest high-school teams.
"The first day we came out and we played hard all four quarters; we started strong and fast," Prior said. "But today, like (IHS Head) Coach Valdez said yesterday, we were deer in headlights, scared of Durango. And our team even talked about it; we were scared at the start of the game, didn't believe we could win, and that's a problem. But we're just going to take it as a learning lesson and move on to league."
"Durango plays at a very fast pace, and they can all shoot - they kind of remind me of Alamosa, just a little better," he added, "and that's what we need to get ready for league! I'm happy we scheduled this game."
Sophomore Hayden Farmer led the Wolverines with 14 points, and junior Dax Snooks canned two second-half treys to finish with eight. Keeping DHS Senior Steven Wyman in check, Phelps fought hard for his seven. Prior booked six and junior Carl Heide came off the bench to chip in three.
DHS senior guard Kyle Kirkpatrick led all players with 18 points. Zachary Geauthreaux netted eight, and senior Javier Quezada equaled Wyman's six as 10 Demons in all contributed at least two. Durango (9-1, 0-0 4A/5A Southwestern) was also 9-of-10 at the free-throw line, bettering BHS' 5-of-13.
"It's not the first time we've seen a team with some speed, but they're a quality team," Lehnus said. "And that's exactly why we're here to play - to find our strengths and where we still need to get better. We have league starting, so I'm thankful for this challenging experience, and I felt we competed tonight. That's the philosophy: We can compete no matter what. It's just we didn't come out and play the way I'd like to see us play the first half, and credit Durango for part of that. They were playing good defense, giving us some pressure and length. See, they have speed, but they have length too, which is a nice combination of course."
Standing 4-5 overall after the event, Bayfield begins Intermountain League work Friday versus Centauri (5-4), then Saturday at Monte Vista.
"I talked to Durango's coach afterwards; he says he really likes our team, as far as our defense and a couple of our players," Lehnus said. "We just need to have a few other players evolve better to be more consistent, and we'll be where we want to be."
