With the basketball season now in to full swing, a pair of local high schools made the sojourn eastward to the San Luis Valley, and returned with a haul of early season victories. Montezuma-Cortez boys and girls teams took on a field in the Mountain Top Tournament, hosted by Centauri High School, with the Panther squads combining for a 5-1 record in the tournament. Meanwhile, the Dove Creek boys and girls faced off with state-ranked competition in the Sangre de Cristo T-Bird Shootout, and both teams collected their first wins of the season.
Hot off their season-opening victory over Durango, Mike Hall’s Panthers carried their blasted their three opponents in the Mountain Top Tournament by a combined 255-125.
Montezuma-Cortez (4-0) beat Las Animas to open action, taking a 41-15 lead into halftime and cruising to a 75-31 win. Senior Teagan Whiteskunk led scorers with 28 points, and classmate Andrew Wood tallied a career-high 15 points in the win.
The Panthers then blitzed Olathe with five Panthers in double figures. Along with Whiteskunk (16) and Wood (13), Titus Jackson (16), Adrian Mark (13), and Giovanni Carta (11) bolstered the 79-32 Panthers victory.
Saving their best for last, M-CHS put on an offensive clinic, pouring in 91 points in a 29-point victory over Moffat County. Whiteskunk put up 10 3-pointers on his way to a tournament-high 39 points, and senior Travis Beeson added 12 points for the Panthers.
The Panthers girls also enjoyed a fruitful trip to La Jara, picking up wins over Las Animas and Olathe to give first-year head coach Brad Wright his inaugural victories.
In their win over Olathe, the Panthers (2-2) held a slim margin at the half but blew open the game in the third quarter by outscoring the Pirates 15-6 in the frame, en route to a 46-29 win.
M-CHS wrapped up action for the weekend with a 58-37 loss against Durango, as they continue their prewinter break slate.
Opening their 2019-20 season, the Dove Creek boys finished with a record of 1-2 in the Sangre de Cristo T-Bird Shootout. Head coach Ty Gray’s squad captured a victory over Creede to begin tournament play before dropping games against the host Thunderbirds and Cheraw.
Dove Creek (1-2) jumped all over the Miners in the opening quarter, leading 13-4 after eight minutes. They sustained the lead through three quarters, before putting the game out of reach with an 18-point burst in the final frame to collect a 59-44 win over Creede. Freshman Kade Hankins emerged as a player to watch for Dove Creek this season, collecting a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds in his first high school game. Junior Branson Smith added 11 points in the winning effort.
From there, the Bulldogs took on state-ranked Sangre de Cristo, falling 57-20, with senior Ty Smith pacing the way for Dove Creek with six points. Dove Creek wrapped up tournament action against Cheraw, dropping the contest 56-34.
The Bulldogs showed they will be a force in the 2A/1A San Juan Basin League as they opened their campaign with a pair of victories to take third place in the Sangre de Cristo T-Bird Shootout. A very experienced team, Dove Creek continued their high-intensity, fast-paced style of play to overwhelm both Creede and Cheraw – a pair of victories sandwiched around a loss against 1A power Sangre de Cristo.
Julie Kibel’s Bulldogs (2-1) pounced on Creede to open the tournament, taking an 82-6 victory. Then, after dropping their second game against the hosts, 64-19, the Bulldogs responded with a solid win over Cheraw to round out the weekend’s action.
Dove Creek led by 12 at the break against the Wolverines, and kept the balanced attack going to provide the final 64-47 margin.
