Panther boys capture Cortez Invite title

Panther boys capture Cortez Invite title

December 4, 2001

KYLE WILSON (34) of the Montezuma-Cortez High School boys varsity basketball team holds up the first-place trophy Saturday afternoon after winning the championship game of the annual Cortez Invitational Basketball Tournament. The Panthers crushed Delta in the title game. They travel to Farmington to take Piedra Vista today.

BY JIM THOMAS
Journal Sports Editor

Basically, it was a good Cortez Invitational Basketball Tournament for the home teams. The Montezuma-Cortez High School boys captured the tournament title while the MCHS girls took second.

Boys and girls games got under way Friday afternoon, Nov. 30, and concluded late Saturday afternoon, Dec. 1, in Ron Wright Memorial Gym.

In the championship boys game Cortez mauled Delta 78-44 and in the championship girls game MCHS fell to Pagosa Springs 35-26.

Cortez boys found its groove early, jumping out to a 5-1 lead in the first quarter. The Panthers’ Mike Rivas canned a three-point goal from the corner during that spurt. Delta came back, though, and eventually tied the game at 7-7, thanks to the strong play of Justin Evans.

An 8-0 run by the Panthers propelled them out to a 15-7 lead. Evans hit a pair of free throws to cut the difference to 15-9 but that was as close as Delta got. The Panthers led 20-13 when the quarter ended.

There was not much scoring early in the second period. Cortez held a 26-14 advantage with 2 minutes, 11 seconds left. It turned into a defensive battle. Cortez led 28-15 at the break.

Rivas opened the third quarter with a three. Delta’s Jeff Allinson canned two treys which cut the Panthers’ lead to 31-21. A breakaway layup by Gabe Evans off an assist from Marcus Mortensen got the Panther offense going back in high gear. Kyle Wilson made a nice follow off a miss and moments later followed with another tip to put Cortez up 39-21. The Panthers led 46-23 when the quarter ended.

About mid-way through the fourth quarter, Kirk Archibeque made a layup when he was wide open for a 52-27 lead. Jeff Anderson got a hot hand by nailing three threes during the final few minutes of the game.

Wilson led the team in scoring with 15, Anderson chipped in 13, Layne Frazier 12, Gave Evans 10, and Mortensen 9. Justin Evans dumped in 17 for Delta.

"We have a very rounded team," coach Mortensen said following the game. He was happy with all aspects of the opening weekend of play.

The Panther boys opened the four-team tourney by hosting Monticello, Utah, and they rolled to an easy 75-48 win.

Cortez took a 16-6 lead at the end of the first quarter and increased that lead to 37-15 at the break. In the second half, the teams mainly traded baskets. Both teams popped in 13 points in the third quarter while MCHS outscored the Buckaroos 25-20 in the fourth.

The Panthers got balanced scoring with Wilson leading the way with 15 points, Mortensen and Gabe Evans each scored 13, and Frazier added 11. Cortez, though, couldn’t stop one of the premier players in Utah in Clint Adams who scored a game-high 25.

"First half we played a very good defensive game," Mortensen remarked. "In the second half, we just traded baskets with them which I wasn’t real pleased with. They have a real good kid in Clint Adams who had 7 the first half and 18 the second half. Wilson played great defense, probably the best defensive game that I had ever seen Kyle play. Overall, our team did a good job the first night."

In the championship girls’ game, the Panthers took on a much taller Pagosa Springs squad. Cortez took a quick 5-2 lead with 5:29 to play and things looked good at that point as big Ashley Gronewoller picked up three quick fouls. Brittany Whiteman put Cortez up 8-4 afte she canned a three from the top of the key. The Panthers were hustling and playing well at that point. That’s the way the score would remain when the quarter ended.

Cortez suddenly started standing around on defense. Pagosa took an 11-9 lead when Carlena Lungstrum hit a three and tall Katie Lansing nailed a 12-footer. The Pirates were on a 7-1 run with 3:15 remaining in the half. Cortez did tie the game at 12-all and moments later at 15-15 with 1:01 showing. Pagosa led 18-15 at the intermission. The Panthers outplayed Pagosa in the first half but they missed several scoring opportunities by not getting the ball into the basket.

The first few minutes of the third quarter Cortez was held scoreless. Good rebounding and strong inside play by Pagosa enabled the Pirates to lead 25-15. Lansing and Gronewoller did the damage. Amanda Frazier hit a three with 1:41 showing which made the score 25-18. The Pirates led 27-18 when the period ended.

Frazier opened the fourth quarter by canning a three which pulled the Panthers back within striking distance at 27-21. Pagosa slowly started pulling away for the win.

Frazier paced the team with 11 points while Allison added 7.

"We’re young and we’re going to make those turnovers and miss shots underneath," MCHS head girls coach Stan Yake said following the game. "I thought we played very well. Pagosa has a very good team and it will go far. We’re learning. We did a lot of good things defensively and offensively. There were times we were out of position on offense and defense, but you have got to give Pagosa’s girls a lot of credit. They got the ball to those big girls and that made a difference. If we could have put in a couple of buckets right at the end we could have been where we wanted to be. But our girls still put out a great team effort."

MCHS girls had no problems crushing Bloomfield, N.M., in its opening game, 62-32.

The game started out slowly with neither team gaining much of an advantage on the scoreboard. Cortez led 8-7 at the end of the first period. The Panthers got their offense into high gear in the second quarter by scoring 20 points while holding the Bobcats to 3. Cortez led 28-10 at the half. The Panthers outpointed Bloomfield 16-6 in the third and barely outscored the Bobcats 18-16 in the final period.

Stefanie Allison led the way by ripping the cords for 23. Lindsey Wilson shot the rock for 18 while Brittany Whiteman chipped in 7. Bloomfield was led by Calla Cox with11 while Rochelle Finch added 7.

"That was a good way to open the season. I was very pleased with our performance. The girls came together quickly as a team. We shot the ball real well," Yake remarked.

Making the All-Tournament for the boys were Frazier, Wilson, and Mortensen plus Monticello’s Adams and Delta’s Evans. The lone Panther girl was Allison to make the elite team. Cox of Bloomfield, Delta’s Lacey Merfitt, and Pagosa’s Gronewoller and Lansing.

The Dolores boys, under the mentorship of Scott Story who replaced Todd Ware, lost at home against a very good 3A Ignacio team on Saturday night at DHS. The Bears fell 82-42 in their season opener.

The Bobcats were left open on the perimeter and burned the Bears all game long. Ignacio drilled seven threes during the game. Andre Maddux made four of them, including three in a row. He led the team with 20 points. Laramy Miller was a big force underneath, grabbing anything missed and putting the ball back.

Mancos boys and girls hoops teams open the 2001-02 season tonight, Dec. 4, by host Class 3A Ignacio in the Mancos Performance Center. The girls’ game should begin about 6 p.m. and the boys will take the floor immediately following.

The Panther girls, 1-1, head to Moab, Utah, to take on Grand County beginning at 6 p.m. today. The Panther boys, 2-0, travel to Farmington to meet Piedra Vista for a 7:30 tipoff.