It was a good way to open the season for the Montezuma-Cortez High School varsity boys basketball team this past weekend. They captured the championship trophy (an Indian bowl) of the annual Cortez Tournament by defeating Delta Friday night, Dec. 1, 48-40 in the first game and then edged Pagosa Springs 53-49 late Saturday afternoon, Dec. 2.

The MCHS girls, meanwhile, finished in third place. They crushed Delta 50-34 in the first round Friday and then lost to Pagosa 49-32 in the title game early Saturday afternoon in Ron Wright Memorial Gym.

In the game against Delta, the Cortez Panther boys fought from a 0-4 deficit to tie the score at 4-4. They could not buy as basket, missing nearly every shot they took. But soon, the Panthers found their shooting touch. The score was tied 4-4 and 6-6 but the Panthers led 7-6 when the quarter ended. The Panthers utilized a cleverly disguised matchup zone which seemed to confuse the Delta Panthers who thought they were attacking at triangle and two scheme.

Kyle Wilson, who is recovering from a preseason leg injury, made a nice follow shot to put MCHS up 11-8. Gabe Evans then canned a three-point goal for a 14-8 lead. With good hustle, the Panthers stretched that lead to 17-8 and led 19-11 when the period ended.

Chris Garland made a backwards layup to start the third period for Cortez. The Panthers continued to move the ball well in their new motion-type offense installed for this season. But Delta came back. Ramon Jackson canned a three which cut Cortez’ lead to 34-24 just before the quarter ended.

Delta’s Jeff Alinson closed the gap to 34-29 with 6:30 left. But Marcus Mortensen answered with a three which made the score 37-29. Delta came back but Cortez still held a 43-33 advantage with 2:35 to play. Evans cut the difference to 45-40 with 37 seconds remaining. But with 17 seconds left, Mortensen canned two free throws to preserve the win.

Mortensen led the way with 14 points. Evans, Layne Frazier, and Kirk Archibeque scored eight each. No Delta players scored in double digits.

"Defensively, I felt good about it," MCHS head boys coach Wade Mortensen said following the game. "Except, we need more movement inside. Offensively, the kids were tight but they will relax and shoot the ball better tomorrow. We didn’t shoot the ball very well."

In the championship game against Pagosa Springs, the Panthers knew they were going to be in for a dogfight.

The Panthers trailed 37-41 with 7:10 to play and still trailed 37-39 with 6:52 left in the fourth quarter. The score was tied 43 all when Mortensen hit a three from the wing. A few minutes later he put the Panthers up 47-43 with another three. But Crenshaw, with a layup along the baseline, tied it at 47. Cortez led 49-47 when Pagosa called time with 1:30 showing. Daarin Lister made a reverse lay to tie the score at 49 with 30 second left. With 14 ticks on the clock, Evans made two free throws to give MCHS a 51-49 lead. Crenshaw missed a three-pointer from the corner. Then with 1 second left, Mortensen sealed the win by making two free throws.

The score stayed close for the early minutes of the first quarter. The score was tied at 2-2 and 4-4 before Wilson made a putback to put Cortez up 6-4. A few minutes later the Panthers were up 12-9 thanks to a three by Mike Rivas. Pagosa came back and pulled within three at 14-11 with 1:31 on the clock. The score tightened to 14-13. The Panthers led 17-13 when the period ended.

Cortez held a slim 19-18 with 7:06 left in the second quarter. Daniel Crenshaw slipped behind the defense with a layup which made it 22-21. The score was tied 23-all but Rivas canned a three which put Cortez up 26-23. The Panthers led 28-25 at the intermission.

In the third quarter, Cortez led 37-33 with 4:10 on the scoreboard. The Pirates trimmed the Panther lead to 37-35 with 3:42 left. It was tied 37-all at the 2:48 mark. Cortez led 39-37 when the period closed.

The Panthers had better balanced scoring in that contest. Mortensen led the way with 14, followed by Garland with 12, Rivas 11, and Wilson 8.

"I told the kids in the locker room, we are just going to get better and better and better. The kids have got to learn offenses and defenses a little better. But this was a nice way to start the season. We were a better team tonight than we were last night. What I liked was down the stretch, these kids didn’t miss from the free throw line or the field."

Stan Yake made his debut as head girls basketball coach a good one Friday night with an easy win over Delta.

"It was a nice way to start the season," Yake said following the game. "I was very pleased with the way we played, especially on defense."

Cortez utilized a full-court press which forced several Delta turnovers that Cortez converted into baskets. Cortez led 6-2 with 5:53 on the clock in the first quarter. Cortez made a lot of transition baskets and dashed off to an 11-5 advantage with 3:11 showing. Linda Smart made an old-fashioned three-point play to put the Panthers up 14-5 with 2:49 left. Cortez led 16-9 when the period ended.

Vanessa Benally gave MCHS a double-digit lead at 22-11 by hitting a nice shot from the wing. Cortez continued to press and Delta continued to make to mistakes. Cortez led 31-14 at the half.

"They couldn’t handle our press in the first half then they started making adjustments," Yake explained.

Delta’s Jessica Clanton drove the lane for a bucket and Leslie Workman followed with an easy shot which made the score 31-18. Delta went on a 6-2 run to start the third quarter. Cortez made several turnovers but Delta could not convert them into points. Courtney Fender hit a pair of charity tosses with 2:24 left which made the score 35-23. Cortez only managed to score six points while Delta made 10. Cortez led 37-24, though.

"We took off our press and used what we call a 50-man (half-court) in the third. And then we went back to it in the fourth. Then when you take it off and put it back on the other team seems to forget how they had adjusted. Our defense then picked up," he added.

Casey Bauer made a nice putback which gave the Panthers a 40-26 lead. Delta was not boxing out and the Panthers were getting several chances underneath. Delta also seemed to tire in the final period. Cortez continued to stretch its lead to 48-34 with 47 seconds left.

Stefanie Allison led her team with 16 points while Bauer contributed 12.

Against Pagosa Springs, Yake knew his team had an up hill battle, so to speak on Saturday afternoon. Pagosa had several tall girls who towered over the smaller Panthers. Pagosa jumped out to a 0-5 lead with 7:09 left in the first quarter. The Panthers pulled close at 3-5. Allison made a three towards the end of the quarter but Cortez was still down 8-11.

In the second period, Cortez had trouble getting shots in the paint. The Panthers managed some outside shots. The only good thing going the Panthers’ way was when tall Ashley Gronewaller had four fouls with 4:11 left in the half. Cortez pressed but trailed 12-18 with 3:11 remaining. Pagosa was able to rebound better than the Panthers and got several shots underneath. Shannon Walkup made a nice set shot which put Pagosa up 12-23.

"It was a very tough first half. We just did not play very well in the first half," Yake said following the game. "But we played a lot better offensively in the second half. We moved the ball better and got better looks. We got some good shots but we couldn’t get enough of them."

In the third quarter, Denise Newlin opened by hitting a three from the top of the key. She made another right away but Pagosa still led 18-23. Pagosa’s Katie Lancing connected on a pair of free throws which gave the Pirates an 18-27 lead. Newlin made another three. Bauer made a nice turnaround jumper at the buzzer. Pagosa held a 35-36 advantage.

The fourth quarter saw Bauer make two quick turnarounds. Cortez kept it close at 29-36. But she also made her fourth foul and ended up fouling out with 10 points at 4:33. With the 6-foot Bauer out of the lineup, the Panthers had an even smaller team. Lancing made a putback which put the Pirates up 29-42. Pagosa Springs coasted from there to the title.

Newlin finished with 11 points. Lancing led the way with 25.

The tournament coaches made the All-Tournament Team choices. For the girls, Fender of Delta, Tasha Tutt of Farmington JVs, Allison of Cortez and Gronewaller and Lancing of Pagosa were honored. For the boys, it was Justin Evans of Delta, David Goodenbeerger of Pagosa, Clint Adams of Monticello, and Mortensen and Garland of Cortez.