As the 2014-15 season has progressed, things have gone from bad to worse for the Dolores High School boys basketball team.
Playing at home against Telluride on Feb. 6, the Bears looked lethargic from start to finish during a 75-36 loss. Dolores trailed 17-6 at the end of the first quarter and 33-20 at halftime. The Bears were outscored 42-16 in the second half.
"We took some really bad shots, and our defense was flat-footed," said Dolores head coach Larry Schwartz. "You have to score more than 36 points if you want to win high school basketball games."
Among the issues that plagued Dolores was the team's inability to defend Telluride senior Wilder Hanley, who scored a game-high 32 points. Hanley finished the game 12-18 from the field and 7-11 from beyond the three-point line.
"(Hanley) is a really good shooting guard," said Schwartz. "How we lost track of him defensively, I have no idea. We just let him run wherever he wanted to. I wasn't very happy about that."
Among the few bright spots for Dolores was the play of junior guard Branden Donaldson, who scored a team-high 10 points.
"Branden was about the only boy that we had get out on the fast break," said Schwartz. "It was hard to fast break when Wilder was nailing three after three."
With the loss, Dolores fell to 2-12 on the season, while Telluride improved to 7-4 on the year with the win.
Next up for the Bears a home matchup against Ouray on Feb. 13, followed by a road matchup against Ridgway on Feb. 14. Dolores lost to both teams earlier this year.
"I don't know if we don't share the ball enough or guys are putting too much pressure on themselves or what," said Schwartz. "We're going to keep working hard for the remainder of the season."
