BY JIM THOMAS

It was a game of true championship-caliber basketball as Dolores and Mancos high schools battled it out Saturday night, Feb. 26, for the Class 2A District III Basketball Tournament which was held in Ron Wright Memorial Gym at Montezuma-Cortez High School.

The two teams fought hard all game long but it finally came down to a break-away basket with two seconds left to actually decide the winner. Tegan Brown, a speedster, ran hard down the floor on an in-bounds play and took a pass and raced almost uncontested for a lay-up giving the Bears a 52-49 win over Mancos.

"It was two great basketball teams playing their guts out," Dolores coach Greg Buffington said following the game. "On that last play that’s one of our in-bounds plays we worked on. They were playing really, really tight. We got behind them and Tegan made the basket. But if she doesn’t make it, time was going to run off. With her speed (she is a sprinter and distance runner during track), we knew she could get away from the defense."

The Bears will go as the number one seed to this Saturday’s, March 4, Regionals at Grand Junction High School while the Blue Jays will advance as the no. 2 seed.

With just 6 seconds left, Mancos’ Melissa Keller pulled the Jays within a point at 50-49 after sinking one-of-two charity tosses. Brown, only a few seconds before that, hit a pair of free throws which had put Dolores up 50-47. But that was coming after Kerri Morgan canned a three which had pulled Mancos within one at 48-47. It was nip-and-tuck, in fact all of the fourth quarter. When the quarter started the Bears held a 40-36 but Mancos had all the momentum.

"We had them on the ropes and we didn’t put them away. But against a good team like that, we tried to sit on it and they got back in it. In about three possessions, they changed the tone of the game and we knew in the fourth quarter we were going to be in for a scrap," Buffington added.

Early in the third quarter, Dolores had an imposing 40-29 lead and it looked like the Blue Jays were finished. But Mancos made a charge at the end of the third quarter and the momentum carried into the fourth. Things looked good for the Bears as Ruthie Martin hit a nice bank shot quickly at the start of the third. Brianna Hanson gave the Bears a comfortable 36-25 lead after making a follow off a missed shot. But the momentum changed.

The Blue Jays moved out to a 4-2 lead when Kristin Paxton sank a pair of charity throws early in the first quarter. Dolores switched defenses from a zone to a man which caused Mancos problems. Dolores moved out to a 14-7 when Hanson scored from underneath with 52 seconds to play.

Martin put Dolores up 18-11 with 4:50 after nailing a pair of free throws. She scored 8 of 15 points during the period. Mancos was missing some lay-ups which hurt its cause. Morgan hit a three, though, which seemed to get the Jays moving. Dolores called time at 4:15 holding a narrow 18-14 advantage. Hanson made two straight baskets a few minutes later and the Bears were up 22-17. They led 26-21 when the first half ended.

"What can you say, it was a great game," Mancos coach Kevin Dimmick said. "We played an outstanding game. We put two good games together and now we have some momentum heading into Regionals. I’m very proud of them and they played like I always knew they could, it just took them a little while to find out in their minds they could."

Hanson paced the Bears with 23 points. Brown finished with 9 to go with Martin’s 15. Paxton led Mancos with 22, Morgan tossed in 8 and Rene Davis 7.

Dolores played Telluride in what should have been an easy win turned into a struggle during the semifinals Friday night, Feb. 25. The Bears, who had easily defeated the Miners twice during the regular season, won 53-45 but it was a lot closer than the score indicated.

With 5:26 to play in the fourth quarter, the Bears were up by only a point at 36-35. Leading 38-37 a few minutes later, Jennifer Trevillian drove the baseline for a bucket and Hanson scored a few seconds later which put the Bears up 42-37. The Miners were making a lot of mistakes and making poor judgment on plays. Telluride cut it close at 44-41 but Brown made a follow and Martin followed that with a lean-in. It came down to fouling and Tiffany Boone sank three-of-four down the stretch for the win.

Boone put Dolores up 6-2 with a three-pointer with 5:57 to play in the first quarter. Trevillian’s lay-up gave the Bears a 10-2 lead. They led 12-6 when the period ended.

But the Miners went on an 8-2 run and tied the game at 14. The Miners led briefly at 16-18 and 20-19. The score was deadlocked at 21 at the break.

Telluride led 23-21 early in the third but it would never lead again although it would stay close after Hanson put the Bears on top 24-23. A steal and lay-up by Boone and a steal and lay-up by Brown gave Dolores a 32-27 lead just before the third period ended.

"We were not ready to play. That was probably our worst game of the season. We handled them easily twice but when you a play a team a third time it gets scary because you don’t know what to expect. They thought they could just show up and win easily," Buffington said following that game.

Third-seeded Mancos took on no. 2 seeded Nucla in the opening game of the tourney on Friday. The Jays came out strong and shocked the Mustangs 40-34. Only two years ago Nucla was state champs and last year they beat Dolores for third place.

Mancos didn’t look like it came ready to play as it did struggled for a few minutes early in the first quarter. They trailed 6-3 and eventually trailed 10-3 when the first quarter ended. But the Jays slowly started pulling things together. They trailed 18-14 at the half.

Keller tied the game at 18 when a lay-up with 5:15 to go in the third quarter. Mancos took its first lead at 21-20 when Paxton made a follow off a missed free throw with 3:46 to play. The Jays were missing some free throws and not rebounding well. They trailed 25-23 when the quarter ended.

Mancos opened the fourth quarter with a 7-2 run. Mancos had the momentum and soon the Jays were up 31-29 with 2:11 to go. Morgan made a driving lay-up which gave the Jays some breathing room at 33-29. Keller sank a free throw which gave the Jays a 34-29 advantage. Katie Paxton, Kristin Paxton, and Morgan sank free throws at the end when the Mustangs were forced to foul.

"We were struggling there a little bit, but I think that was because of the intensity of the game," Dimmick commented. "We started executing and getting people open on that zone. We just kept at it and we won it. We pressured them and Nucla lost their cool and I think that had something to do with it."