Montezuma and Dolores counties sent four teams to postseason tournaments this weekend. None escaped their opening contests.
The Montezuma-Cortez Panthers on Friday lost their opening game in the Class 3A State Tournament to Stapleton High School, 68-54.
The Panthers were the 32-team tournament’s 25th-ranked team. Stapleton entered the state tournament as the No. 8 seed after finishing its regular season with an 18-4 record overall and an 11-1 record in the Frontier League.
Stapleton lost to Strasburg, 62-53, in the following round.
M-CHS’ state seeding followed a solid performance in the Class 3A Intermountain League District Tournament that resulted in the Panthers finishing third overall. M-CHS opened the tournament with a 63-60 victory over Centauri before falling to Alamosa, 70-31, in the second round.
The Panthers finished the season with a 12-11 record, their first winning record since 2005.
Back at regionals for the first time since 2016, the Dolores High School girls basketball team was looking for consecutive upsets and advance to the Class 2A State Tournament for the first time in more than a decade.
The Lady Bears lost in the first round of the Region 6 tournament to Del Norte, 65-26.
Standing in the way of the Lady Bears in their quest to qualify for state was the state’s No. 6 seed, Del Norte, which entered its regional matchup against Dolores on March 2 at 6 p.m. with a 19-3 record overall.
Winners of 16 straight games, Del Norte won all eight of its contests against South Peaks League opponents and held Crested Butte to four total points during a 48-point victory in the opening round of the Class 2A District 1 Tournament last weekend.
The Lady Bears finished second in the Class 2A District 3 Tournament last weekend, which was made possible by a 45-32 victory over Norwood in the District semifinals. Ignacio beat Dolores, 46-11, in the district finals.
Equipped with solid guards and impressive big men, the Mancos High School boys basketball team has the look of a state tournament-caliber team.
To advance to Colorado’s big dance, however, the Bluejays had to score consecutive upset victories in the Class 2A Region 8 Tournament in Denver, on March 2-3.
Mancos lost to Sanford, 46-37 in the first round of the Region 8 tournament.
No. 8 seed Sanford High School entered the tournament with a record of 17-5 overall and defeated Del Norte, 52-42, in the Class 2A District 1 Championship last weekend.
The Bluejays entered the contest with a 15-6 record overall and a 9-4 record against San Juan Basin League competition during the regular season.
After finishing last season with a 4-15 record, the much-improved Dove Creek High School girls basketball team on Saturday faced Belleview Christian in the Class 1A Region 2 Tournament with a berth in the state tournament on the line.
The Lady Bulldogs lost, 42-40.
Belleview Christian entered the contest with a 17-5 record after winning the Class 1A District 8 Tournament last weekend.
Dove Creek finished second in the Class 1A District 1 Tournament last weekend after defeating De Beque, 54-38, in the semifinals and losing to North Park, 53-38, in the District Championship game.
