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December 6, 2001
By Jim Thomas FARMINGTON — It is hard to get into any type of rhythm and into an offensive flow when the game is stopped by constant foul calls. New Mexico High School Acitivites Association utilizes a three-referee system for its games, much like the college and pro ranks. Colorado uses two officials for its regular-season games. The referees Tuesday night in Farmington seemed to call everything, even tiny nit-picking things. The constant interuption was certainly disruptive. Nevertheless, Mon-tezuma-Cortez boys pulled through the adversity of playing on the road and crushed Piedra Vista 62-42 in a non-conference boys basketball game. "It was tough," MCHS head coach Wade Mortensen commented. "It seemed like there was whistle every time down the court. I don’t like to criticize officiating, but it was hard to get into any kind of flow. I give our kids a lot of credit for hanging in there and hanging in there." The Class 4A no. 3 ranked Panthers took an early 4-2 lead but the score was quickly tied at 4-4. MCHS went up 8-4 after Kyle Wilson made two free throws with 2 minutes, 57 seconds showing. But that lead didn’t last long as PV came right back when it got into the bonus situation. The score was deadlocked at 9-9 and at 11-all when the first quarter ended. Early in the second quarter, PV was in the double bonus situation because the Panthers had committed 10 fouls. Marcus Mortensen was fouled and then a PV player was called for a technical. Mortensen made two of four shots and then Cortez converted after it got the ball back. Cortez moved out to a 20-15 lead. Back to back threes by Kyle Chandler and Kirk Archibeque gave MCHS a commanding 26-15 advantage with 3:27 to play. Cortez continued pouring in shots and was on a 20-5 run. The Panthers led 35-23 at the half. Cortez opened the third quarter in a full-court press which caught PV off guard. Jeff Anderson made a three and Mortensen hit four straight points. Cortez went on a 13-1 run following that call. Cortez led 45-30 at the end of the third. Wilson made a resounding dunk which took Cortez to 49-30 early in the fourth. A putback by Layne Frazier gave the Panthers a 51-32 lead with 5:45 to go. About that point, the referees let the kids play ball and Cortez was off to the races. It was nearly all Cortez from that point. Mortensen led the Panthers with 14, Frazier scored 12, Wilson 11, Anderson 10, and Archibeque 9. For PV, C.J. Smith popped in 11. "It was until the end the of the game that we finally got to play and we were able to put them away. It was a good win. Anytime you can win on the road it is good," he added. The Panthers, who are playing their fourth game in seven days, visit Moab, Utah, for a game against Grand County at about 7: 30 p.m. today, Dec. 6. Mancos High School opened the 2001-02 season at home Tuesday night against Ignacio. For the boys, Mancos lost a close contest to the Class 3A no. 8 ranked Bobcats 80-72. For the girls, MHS started the season off with a 47-42 victory, also over the Bobcats. Andre Mattox scored 27 points, including four 3-pointers, to lead to the Bobcats to the non-conference win. Lorenzo Rodriguez, coming off the bench, had 18 points, Chris Phillips 11 and Olin Goodtracks and Laramy Miller, who was in foul trouble, had 8 for Ignacio. Mancos led 38-37 at halftime and Ignacio led 55-54 after three quarters in the close game. The Bobcats are now 2-0 while Mancos slipped to 0-1. Kyle Yeomans led Mancos with 15 points. In the girls’ game, the run-and-gun Blue Jays jumped out to a 16-3 lead to open the game. Ignacio came back, thanks to Reagena Thompson who finished with a game-high 24 points, to make it close at 22-19 at the intermission. The Jays, both boys and girls, visit Bayfield beginning at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 8. They do not play again until they visit Durango for a game against the Demon JVs on Dec. 15. But following that they host their annual Blue Jay Classic Dec. 17-22. At the Bulldog Classic last weekend held at the Mancos Performance Center, the Dolores County varsity boys basketball team captured the tournament title while the girls took second. DCHS boys, under the direction this season by first-year head coach Ty Gray, crushed Class 3A Bayfield 54-38 in the title game. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 23-10 lead at the end of the first quarter. They played excellent defense especially in the second period while they held the Wolverines to five points while scoring 13 for a 36-15 lead at the half. The Bulldogs scored 28 points in the second half while holding BHS to 23. "I wasn’t expecting us to get out to such a large lead so quickly," Gray reported. "We played very good pressure defense in the first half. We got a lot of steals and made baskets. Our transition game was working very well. They guys excuted the offense well the whole game." DCHS shot 43 percent from the field, including making two of six three-point attempts, and it made six of nine from the free throw line. Keith Pierce led the Bulldogs in scoring with 19 points. Dallas Coker and Brandon Neely each tossed in 12. In the opening game of the tournament and of the 2001-02 season, Gray admitted he was nervous (this is his first head coaching job ever). The Bulldogs defeated Aztec, N.M. JVs 64-35. DCHS raced off to an 18-5 lead at the end of the first period and led 33-18 at the half. The young Tigers did out-point DCHS 14-9 in the third quarter. But DCHS bounced back and outscored Aztec 22-3 in the fourth to coast to the win. Coker and Pierce each popped in 15 while Neely added 11. Travis Douglas and David King each scored seven for AHS. "We came out smoking," Gray said. "We couldn’t miss. We pressured them as much as we could. They executed our offense well considering that was our first game." The DCHS girls, meanwhile, placed second after falling to Bayfield 49-16. Nikie Hassell was the leading scorer for the Bulldogs with six. Shiprock, N.M. JVs beat Aztec JVs 60-32 for third place. In the first game of the tourney, DCHS defeated Aztec JVs 48-17. Bayfield beat Shiprock JVs 50-35. Erin Ivie and Shandra Johnson each scored 11 for the Bulldogs in the win over the Tigers. Jim Buffington, who "retired" two years ago and sat out last season, is back coaching the team again this year.
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Copyright © 2001 the Cortez
Journal. All rights reserved. |
