The Bayfield boys and girls basketball teams are looking toward a matchup with Telluride on Saturday after tough home losses to Monte Vista on Monday.
Bayfield’s girls basketball was on the floor first. Saluted before the senior night tipoff, sole senior Renae Foutz knocked down one 3-pointer and totaled 11 points, but the relentless Pirates pulled away for keeps after halftime and earned themselves a needed 58-13 road win.
Senior guard Sasha Dupont tallied a game-high 12 points and junior guard/forward Heysenny Beltran came off Monte Vista head coach Shawna Larson’s bench to net a complementary 11, but neither truly got going until after MVHS (10-10 overall, 4-6 3A/4A Intermountain) took a 20-7 lead into halftime.
Through nearly a quarter and a half, however, boss Ben Martinez’s Wolverines (5-15, 0-10 IML) were very much in contention. Down 7-2 after the opening eight minutes, BHS closed to 10-6 during the second quarter as Foutz made one of two free throws, then the aforementioned trey. With five minutes left in the half, Dupont drained the first of her two threes to widen Monte Vista’s margin for error and senior Allessah Archuleta increased it to 16-6 via a triple with 2:20 to go in the half.
Despite Foutz and freshman Grace Brown booking buckets for Bayfield during the third quarter, MVHS began the fourth up 35-11 after Beltran swished a long jumper with less than three ticks left.
Another of Larson’s reserves, Mascarenas increased the lead to 42-11 by making the Pirates’ fifth and last 3-pointer, and with 5:49 remaining in regulation.
Monte Vista continued to pressure every ball in sight, turnovers, fatigue and frustration all mounted quickly for the Wolverines and only Foutz, cleaning up her own close-range miss, managed to net any sort of shot the rest of the way.
Monte Vista hosts 4A Montezuma-Cortez (6-15, 2-8 IML) on Friday. Bayfield will host 3A Telluride on Saturday.
Bayfield boys basketball gets upset by Monte Vista
The Bayfield boys should be state playoff-bound but their 44-40 loss to Monte Vista on Monday didn’t help.
Down 9-6 after the opening eight minutes, Bayfield (12-8 overall, 6-4 3A/4A Intermountain) came alive in the second quarter and went into halftime up 21-20, helped by sophomore reserve Drew Jepson’s five consecutive points.
Like Jepson, senior Austin Wilmer and sophomore Hayes Malone also nailed one 3-pointer each after checking in off head coach Damon White Thunder’s bench. The Wolverines could truly pat themselves on the back after holding MVHS standout forward/center Azariah Hurtado to just two field goals and six total points.
But in the third quarter, the junior nicknamed ‘Raz’ combined with senior Kaden Madrid to book 11 points as the visitors built up a 33-25 lead and began the final frame up 35-27 after junior Domyon Naranjo beat the third-quarter buzzer with an unlikely short-range scoop shot.
Bayfield freshman Harrison Williams got the fourth quarter scoring started with 5:46 remaining in regulation, as he converted a no-look feed from senior Lincoln Williams into an easy 2-pointer. With 4:40 left, Monte Vista’s lead had dwindled down to 37-34 after the elder Williams had a steal and layup.
Malone then knocked down his second trey, tying the score at 37-all, but Pirate senior Ismael Medina countered with a go-ahead deuce with 2:46 to go. MVHS (10-10, 3-7 IML) then expanded the margin to 42-37 as senior Alex Marquez made one of two free throws with only 31.6 ticks left.
Hurtado then added another FT, but Malone cashed a clutch three with 13 seconds left to make it 43-40 Alertly fouling Monte Vista on the ensuing inbounds pass, BHS caught a break when Marquez bricked two FTS with 11.6 seconds left and the Wolverines then grabbed the rebound. Unfortunately, Malone couldn’t connect once more from downtown, and the Pirates then clinched victory when Marquez made one last free throw after Lincoln Williams fouled out with 0:01.6 remaining.
Malone totaled a team-best 11 points in defeat. Roderick and Jepson each finished with five points.
Fierce on the boards with an unofficial count of 15 rebounds, Hurtado (6-8 FT) ended up with a game-high 14 points and Madrid (4-5 FT) an effective 10 in support.
