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Feb.13, 2001
BY JIM THOMAS Journal Sports Editor Playing Montrose and Grand Junction High this past Friday and Saturday, Feb. 9-10, was just what the Montezuma-Cortez High School boys varsity basketball team needed. The Panthers picked up a 57-32 win over the Indians and a 79-40 victory over the Tigers in the friendly confines of Ron Wright Memorial Gym. Both were Southwestern League contests. But more importantly, the Panthers nailed down the no. 2 seed (Montrose is the no. 5 seed) in the coming Class 4A District VII Basketball Tournament, set for Feb. 22-24. "After we struggled for three straight games (recent road losses), we needed these wins," MCHS head boys coach Wade Mortensen commented following the win on Saturday. The MCHS varsity girls basketball team split games over the weekend, losing to Montrose 53-46 but coming back to beat Grand Junction 49-41. The Panther girls will be the no. 5 seed (Montrose no. 2 seed) in the District VII Tournament. In the boys’ game against Montrose, the Panthers got off to a slow start, falling behind 8-2 after Zach Smith made six of those points. But the Panthers quickly regrouped and came right after them. Marcus Mortensen canned a three-pointer which put the Panthers up for good at 9-8. Cortez led 11-8 when the quarter ended. Mike Rivas made a steal and layup which gave the Panthers a still precarious 13-10 advantage. From that point on, the game turned into a defensive struggle. Mortensen got the Panthers to a more comfortable 16-10 lead when he made another three. Jeff Anderson connected on a pair of threes when left alone out on the perimeter. He put Cortez up 23-11. The Panthers pressed the Indians which created some turnovers. Kyle Wilson showed good range by hitting a three and he later sank a pair of free throws. The Panthers held a comfortable 23-15 lead at the half. It was a rather physical game as Montrose’ Tim Brown, J.T. Shelton, and John Fleming all had four fouls by early in the third quarter. Gabe Evans and Chris Garland also had four fouls. The Panthers finally made a shot from the floor when Mortensen made a layup with 2 minutes, 13 seconds to play. Montrose also was struggling offensively during the period. Cortez scored eight points in the period and Montrose just six. MCHS led 40-21 at the end of three quarters. Wilson drove hard to the hole for a putback following a miss on a three-point attempt. MCHS led 43-23. Garland also crashed the boards and made a follow and Layne Frazier went to the bucket hard with a layup for a 50-26 advantage. Cortez coasted from there to the win. "I was pleased with our man defense. At times, I thought we played it about the best we have all season. We battled hard and it was good to see that after we struggled in those three road games. Our game plan was to keep people fresh and we played a lot of our guys. I was pleased with our depth from the bench," coach Mortensen said Friday following the game. Mortensen led the team with 15 points, Anderson popped in 14, and Wilson added 10. Smith paced Montrose with nine. On Saturday against the Tigers, Cortez continued to clean the glass after getting good positioning underneath. After being deadlocked 7-7, the Panthers scored eight in a row, capped by a driving layup by Garland. Doug Bennett hit a shot from underneath at the buzzer for GJHS. Cortez led 15-11 when the quarter ended. Anderson opened the period with a three for an 18-11 lead but Brady Butler answered right back with a three. Wilson put Cortez up 24-17. The Panthers led 34-27 at the half. Garland’s nice bucket after an assist from Mortensen who had made a steal put the Panthers ahead 40-29 early in the third. The Tigers were becoming very frustrated by this point. Lars Irion did bring the Tigers back to within 10 at 44-34 when he canned a three. Cortez led 48-34 with three quarters in the books. Anderson’s old-fashioned three-point play gave the Panthers a commanding 55-34 lead. Garland’s strong putback after a missed three gave Cortez a 63-34 lead at which point Grand Junction needed a time out with 4:37 remaining. The Panthers continued to dominate both on the offensive end and the defensive end of the floor. Coach Mortensen was shuffling players in and out and before the period ended, all had scored including Walt Pape who hit a free throw for his first varsity point of the season. The Panthers got very balanced scoring as Anderson tossed in 15, Garland 13, Rivas and Mortensen 10, Wilson nine, and Frazier eight. Butler paced GJHS with 10. "We were scoring inside and outside. We got balanced scoring and our bench played very well. I thought this was our best effort rebounding and working the inside all weekend. It feels good to have protected our home court with these two wins," Mortensen said Saturday after the game. The Panther girls pressed the Tigers and opened with tough defense. Cortez jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead and then led 9-2 after Stefanie Allison connected on a three from the wing. The Panthers hustled throughout the period. Grand Junction needed a time with Cortez up 11-5 with 1:37 to play. Cortez led 13-7 when the period ended. The Tigers tried to press Cortez but the Panthers slipped by. The Tigers pulled close at 15-10 when Juanita Gonzales made a fast-break layup. Andrea Derrick’s layup and free throw put the Panthers back up 18-10. Casey Bauer went hard to the hole on a putback for a 25-10 lead. Cortez led 29-17 when the half closed. There was not a whole lot of scoring in the third quarter. MCHS, as of 3:35, had not scored and Grand Junction had only made three free throws at that point. Cortez led 35-23 when the quarter was over. Grand Junction got sloppy trying to make layups and missed several. Before long, the Tigers were forced to foul but Cortez made a majority of its free tosses. Bauer kept going strong to the bucket. She made a nice putback after an errant three try which gave MCHS a 45-34 lead. The Panthers held on for the win. Bauer paced Cortez with 16 while Allison made 10 and Denise Newlin eight. Natalie Rodriguez led GJHS with eight and Maddie Buford chipped in seven. "We made a lot of rebounds," MCHS coach Stan Yake said after the game. "I was especially pleased with our offensive boards. I thought we hit the boards real well all weekend. The girls needed this for a confidence builder going into our last game with Durango and the district tournament." On Friday against Montrose, Cortez took a 5-0 lead when Emilie Lanier drove hard to the hole and Allison made an old-fashioned three-point play. But the Indians rallied back to tie it at 5-5. Bauer made a turnaround for a 9-7 lead but Sara Sisneros canned a trey which put GJHS up 10-9. The Indians led 12-9 at the end of the period. Montrose increased its lead to 16-10 early in the second quarter. Montrose utilized a 2-3 zone which gave the Panthers fits. Cortez just could not penetrate and get the ball inside. Montrose went on an 8-3 run which put the Indians in front 20-12. Derrick did make a rare penetration for a driving layup which made the score 24-16. MHS led 30-20 at the break. The Panthers did make a run and pulled within 10 at 33-23 after an old-fashioned three-point play. Montrose then made a run and led 39-23. Nicole Stephens stopped the run with a three. Montrose led 39-26 at the end of three periods. Montrose continued to tighten the zone. The Panthers, though, could not make many shots from outside during the early goings. However, the Panthers’ Denise Newlin got hot and sank three threes and then Allison made a layup to trim the difference back to 10 at 53-43 after MHS led 53-34. The Indians hanged on for the win. Emily Gibson led Montrose with 12 points while Sisneros and Gina Davenport chipped in nine each. Newlin and Bauer scored 10 apiece for MCHS. Yake was pleased with the fact that his girls played well against Montrose in the fourth quarter. He noted that MCHS did not just fold up but that the team played hard to the end then carried that forward to the next day against Grand Junction High. The Panthers play their final regular-season game at home against arch-rival Durango beginning at 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 16. |
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Copyright © 2001 the Cortez Journal.
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