GRAND JUNCTION — One favorite team won while three others recorded upsets during competion at the prep Class 2A Western Regional Basketball Tournament Saturday, March 3, at neutral site Grand Junction High School.

Top-seeded Nucla boys had no problems beating Plateau Valley 67-45. Nucla has not had too many close games this season.

Nucla girls, the no. 2 seed, needed an overtime to defeat North Park 59-57. No. 2 seed West Grand stopped previously undefeated and no. 1 seed Dolores girls 53-49. No. 2 seed Mancos boys defeated no. 1 seed North Park 57-53. The Blue Jays will join the Nucla boys and girls, and West Grand girls at the Pueblo Events Center this Thursday-Saturday, March 8-10, at the Class 2A State Basketball Tournament (see related story).

The Mancos boys took the floor for the final game of the day. After coming off a lopsided loss to Nucla in the District III Tournament finals only a week earlier, no one was quite sure which team was going to show up. But soon it became evident.

"They didn’t panic when they got behind. They don’t panic. They are just good kids," Mancos coach Gary Hill said following the game. "I’m glad to be taking them with me (to Pueblo). We’re glad to be going back (to State)."

Mancos opened the first quarter on the attack, both offensively and defensively. Mancos led 5-2 mid-way through the period. Jesse Rousett made a reverse layup and then he made a jumper. Mancos led 9-6. The Blue Jays worked the ball well and were patient during the first quarter. Just before the quarter ended, Bret Kaup made a finger roll. Mancos led 11-10.

Ty Robben put North Park up 13-11 with a three-pointer. And soon North Park went on a 6-2 run to take a 19-13 lead. Mancos didn’t panic. The Jays stayed close at 21-20 with 2:25 to play. Kyle Yeomans nailed a three which put the Jays back on top 23-21. The Wildcats scored six straight points to close the quarter. North Park led 27-23 at the half.

"It took us a little while to get going. When we decided to play, we worked the ball real well inside," Hill said. "Nick Rubino did a great job on defense in the second half. Jesse had a great first half and Bill had a great second half."

Mancos opened the second half by making several turnovers. Robben hit a three for a 33-29 North Park advantage. Bill Baker made an old-fashioned three-point play which pulled the Jays within one at 39-38. Baker drove the lane which tied the score at 42-all just before the third quarter ended.

Rousset made a finger roll underneath for a 44-42 Mancos lead. Mancos then capitalized on several North Park miscues for a 48-42 lead with 5:06 left. North Park’s Chris Lance made a pair of free throws and then made a steal and layup which pulled the Wildcats to within one at 48-47. Kaup’s two charity tosses at 3:51 gave North Park a 50-49 lead. The game was knotted at 51 but it was Travis Clark’s putback which put the Jays up for good at 54-51 with 1:46 to go. Mancos led 56-53 with 23 ticks left. North Park muscled in for several shots underneath but none found the mark. Mancos called time with one second left at 56-53 and then held the ball for the win.

Rousset led Mancos with 20 points while Baker knocked down 13 and Clark nine. Kaup led all scorers with 22 while Robben added 11 and John Irvine 10. The Blue Jays improved to 12-6 overall.

Earlier in the day, there was something just not right. The Dolores girls, who generally play with a lot of confidence, were nervous and not themselves. Right in the first quarter, they made several mistakes. West Grand, which displayed a lot of speed and good ball control, jumped out to an 11-6 lead with one minute, 42 seconds to play. Dolores had problems going inside against the Mustangs’ 1-2-2 zone. And with just four seconds left in the first quarter, Dolores starter Jennifer Trevillian had three fouls and was sitting on the bench. Senior Shonda Brown sank two free throws with 0:04 for a 15-8 lead.

Dolores still had not settled down and played their style of ball. They were stuck in a half-court game and could not get their run-and-gun offense going. Deb Thompson’s putback gave the Mustangs an 18-8 lead with 6:23 to play. The Bears also had not scored any points as of that time. Soon, starters Joni Everett, Tracy Everett and Sarah Nielson had three fouls each. McKenzie Reed sank a pair of free throws, but Dolores still trailed 25-16 with less than a minute to play. Dolores trailed 27-18 at the half.

"I didn’t really tell them anything different at the half. I just told them to come out and play hard like they did in the first half," a disappointed Mellott said following the game. "We didn’t change anything we came up and did exactly what we were going to do."

The Bears came out and played aggressively in the third quarter. The Dolores press was forcing some West Grand turnovers. West Grand called time to regroup with the Mustangs up 31-21 with 5:59 on the clock. Mid-way through the period, Joni and Tracy Everett and Nielson soon picked up their fourth fouls. Dolores’ Ashley Reed made a nice putback which cut the lead to 33-25. Trevillian then went to work. She made a layup and then scored off a breakaway which cut the West Grand lead to 35-31. The Mustangs scored three points to go up 38-31. Just before the quarter ended, Reed scored from underneath.

Trevillian and her teammates never gave up. She missed, missed and then scored on her third attempt under the basket to open the fourth quarter. Moments later she made a layup which put the Bears close at 38-37. She then made a point just inside the arc near the top of key which gave the Bears their first lead in the game at 39-38. The Bears were playing their type of game, scoring off transition baskets. But it wasn’t to last long as Brown came back scored from the wing. She then made a steal and a layup and seconds later made a putback for a 44-39 advantage. Dolores head coach Rob Mellott called time with two mintues to play. Tracy Everett made a set shot which brought them to 44-41 with 1:48 showing. Brown made a pair of charity tosses which padded the Mustangs’ lead at 48-41 with 1:01 to go. The score remained close. Trevillian canned a three with 13 seconds to go which pulled them within one at 50-49. Jessica Brown made one of three free throws when she was fouled beyond the arc and then sealed the win with two more free throws with two seconds to play.

Trevillian led the way with 18 points while Tracy Everett tossed and Ashley Reed nine. Shonda Brown scored 17 and Jessica Brown 16 for West Grand.

"The second half was a good half. In the first half, we got into their game," he added.

Dolores finished the season at 21-1.