Pirates total 13 second-half points, lose at Bayfield

BAYFIELD— Head coach Jeff Lehnus knew that his Wolverines rushed things a bit much as the first quarter of Saturday evening’s 3A Intermountain League contest wound down inside BHS Gymnasium.

“I wanted them to run (the clock) down to one shot, but we didn’t…allow for a miss and, maybe, an offensive putback…and still not giving the other team enough time to go down,” the Bayfield skipper recalled afterwards, “which he still did…. Threw in that…half-court three!”

‘He’ was the Monte Vista Pirate he’d been most concerned about containing.

And after junior David Mascarenas’ buzzer-beating heave bulls-eyed perfectly the backboard’s window and fell through the strings, the visitors, despite still trailing 18-15, got their needed momentum boost with plenty of time for their traveling fan base to cheer it into the second stanza.

And though BHS senior center Ryan Phelps countered with an immediate three-pointer of his own, MVHS scrapped back to tie the game for the first time at 24-24 when junior Darrius Garcia drained a trey.  However, still stoked by their difficult win in La Jara at Centauri the previous night, the Wolverines quickly assembled a six-point burst and ultimately rebuilt their pad to 39-30 late, via the first of Phelps’ three two-handed jams.

Monte junior Steven Martinez sank a clutch three just before halftime, bringing the guests back to within a half-dozen, but the Pirates would get no closer as Bayfield won the third quarter by a 29-10 margin and the fourth by a 12-3 count to win handily, 80-46.

“When you get somebody on the ropes you want to…finish it,” said Lehnus.  “That doesn’t mean in the fourth, it means…not give them a chance to get back in it again!  So I was pleased with that.”

Mascarenas finished with a team-best 15 points, but only two after intermission.  Junior Kevin Castro, Phelps’ opposite number in the paint, managed six points but was slowed by three fouls.  Sophomore Kaidon Wenta also fought hard for six, while Martinez, Garcia and sophomore reserve guard Andres Maestas each netted five points as MVHS dipped to 4-6 overall, 0-2 IML.

Able to complete possibly the first tractor-trailer dunk (served off the glass by senior guard Dax Snooks early in the fourth quarter) seen in the venue, Phelps logged a game-best 22 and was 5-of-9 from the charity stripe.

Junior forward Hayden Farmer pumped in 17 points and junior reserve guard Turner Kennedy provided a key mid-game lift—after junior starter Keyon Prior (4 points) went out with a foot/ankle injury, later encased by a protective boot—and registered 13 points.

Combined with senior Carl Heide’s four points and senior Dawson Heide’s eight, BHS (7-4, 2-0) won the bench-production aspect by a 25-9 margin—helping offset Monte Vista’s 4-3 edge in three-pointers.

Up next, the Pirates will host Montezuma-Cortez (6-4, 1-1) on Friday and then visit Centauri on Saturday, while the Wolverines will travel to Pagosa Springs on Friday, then host Alamosa on Saturday.

Awarded the #2 spot in this week’s CHSAANow.com Class 3A poll, the Mean Moose will enter their contest Friday against CHS (7-4, 0-2) standing 8-1 overall, 2-0 in league.