By Mike Weaver

The Mancos High School varsity boys and girls basketball teams may have some rough edges to rub off early in the season, but both teams showed they are still a force to reckon with in their opening games of the Blue Jay Classic Basketball Tournament at the Mancos Performance Center.

On Tuesday, Dec. 14, the Blue Jay girls evened their season record to 2-2 with an 84-30 whuppin of Monument Valley, Utah. And the Mancos boys took control over MV in the second half to turn a 60-48 win in their tourney opener and likewise improve their record to 2-2.

The Blue Jay girls’ Monument Valley match up may not have been a work of art, they were still able to take control of the game early and stay on top for 48 minutes of play. Mancos’ skill and size advantage made the game a lopsided affair.

But the win over the Valley Girls did not come without its price. Midway through the third quarter, senior forward Erica Russell went down with an apparent knee injury. Depending on the outcome of tests, Russell’s high school basketball career could be up in the air.

Final score notwithstanding, Mancos coach Kevin Dimmick saw room for improvement in his team.

"The scoreboard looked great, but I thought we played a sloppy game," Dimmick said. "We just didn’t execute very well. We have some things to work on."

Full court pressure got both teams some good turnovers following the opening tip-off. Mancos converted more often than not, but the Cougars fell short. The Jays used their control of the key to good effect, getting the lion’s share of points on second efforts.

About three and a half minutes remained in the first stanza when Kerri Morgan scored her third of three straight baskets to give Mancos a 12-4 lead. Less than half a minute remained when Randee Reider and Melissa Keller completed back-to-back old fashioned three point plays to give Mancos a 21-11 lead. Keller closed out the quarter with a basket, and the Jays were up 23-11.

Turnovers continued to plague Monument Valley in the second quarter. Kristen Paxton found the bucket to give Mancos a 20-point lead with 5:30 left in the half. The Cougars managed to narrow the gap down to 31-19, but Kristin and Katie Paxton and Amanda Kennedy each hit baskets to stretch the gap again. Russell hit from inside with 22 seconds left to make it a 43-21 lead.

The Mancos press created seven straight turnovers in the third quarter, but the basket was elusive. Mancos scored on some hard drives to the hole, and drew fouls to boot. Reider finished up an old fashioned three pointer, and the Jays led 48-21 at the seven minute mark. Six minutes remained when Crystal Gray made a basket for the Cougars, the only MV score during the stanza. A 10-point Mancos run gave it a 60-23 lead at the buzzer.

Gray scored a basket for the Cougars with 2:03 left in the game to break an eight minute scoring drought. At that point it was a 76-25 runaway for the Blue Jays. Sixteen seconds remained when Gray hit a three pointer to make the score 82-30. Rene Davis found the bucket with six ticks left on the clock to Give Mancos an 84-30 win.

Reider led scoring with a game high 22 tallies. Keller and Kristin Paxton hit for 15 apiece and Morgan chipped in 10. Gray was the only Cougar in double figures with 11 points.

The Mancos boys had a tougher row to hoe in their game against Monument Valley. An 18-17 lead turned into a 29-27 half-time deficit for the Blue Jays. They showed a different look in the second half, though, and that was the ticket. At intermission, Coach Gary Hill and the Jays put together a game plan that worked.

"We played a much more sagging man-to-man (defense) rather than going out and really getting in their face," Hill said.

Defense was only part of the story. Mancos turned to it typical slower and more patient offense to take the game in hand.

Baskets by Bill Baker and Jesse Rousset pulled the Jay ahead 31-29 with 4:48 left, but MV answered with a tying bucket at the 3:28 mark. Travis Clark was fouled while drawing a bead on the bucket and hit both shots at the charity stripe to put Mancos ahead to stay at 33-31. Baker scored on a free throw and a couple of baskets from inside to put the Jays up to stay, 38-31 with 1:20 remaining in the third stanza. Ray Thomas hit for two with six seconds left, and Mancos led 40-36.

Monument Valley closed to within four points twice in the fourth quarter, but time was on the Blue Jays’ side. With a minute to play, Mancos led 54-48. The Cougars were forced into a fouling situation in the game’s final seconds, and the Jays cashed in at the free throw line.