With both Mancos programs losing plenty of talent to graduation after last year, the beginning of the 2022-23 season held more questions than answers for Bluejays basketball.
Whatever uncertainties loomed over the campaign, the Bluejays answered them – and then some – to the tune of a double district title for the girls and boys programs.
In the process, the Mancos girls picked up their first district tournament title since 2008, while the boys took their fourth in the past five years.
The Bluejays dominated their regular season meetings against district competition, never allowing 2A opposition in the San Juan Basin League to finish within 25 points of them – and kept the trend going in the district postseason.
After cruising past Telluride 52-16 in the semifinals on Thursday, the Bluejays looked to control their game against Ridgway from the opening tip on Friday. The host Demons had other ideas, keeping pace through the opening quarter, lingering around in a 13-9 game.
“I told our girls after the opening quarter that we won the quarter, even though the game was close,” said Bluejays head coach Kerri Morgan, “and that allowed us to stay confident and aggressive.”
The levy broke in the second quarter, as the Jays outscored Ridgway 17-3 in the period to build a 30-12 lead at halftime. Junior Teya Yeomans and freshman Claire Goodwin accounted for 22 of the Jay points by the break, while sophomore Jenna Wilson provided a huge spark with six points in the half.
Goodwin’s flurry continued into the third quarter, as she added another dozen on her way to a game-high 23 points. By the time she and the starting five departed early in the fourth quarter, the lead had grown above 30 points, allowing the Bluejay reserves to close the door while the blue-and-white faithful who made the trip enjoyed the chance to savor the program’s first district tournament title in 15 years.
“We have a high level of energy every day in practice,” added Morgan, “and it allows us to carry it over in games.”
Yeomans finished with 13 points, while Wilson and junior Quincy Montoya each added a half-dozen.
After plenty of close calls in recent years, the Bluejays have a first-place plaque to add to the Mancos High School trophy case. “It’s really meaningful, to have this one be the first that we’ve won since I’ve been here,” said Morgan.
The boys, meanwhile, bounced back from a grinding semifinal victory Thursday over Dolores to overwhelm Telluride in the district title game, 51-34, at Ridgway High School. on Friday.
Down 5-2 early, Mancos rattled off a 14-2 run to end the opening frame, thanks to junior Brian Veach’s eight points in the spurt. Sophomore Kaiden Wyatt and junior Chris Medina kept the momentum going in the second quarter, pushing the lead to 14 at the half with stifling defense and a cutting edge on the offensive end. Medina dropped in a pair of acrobatic driving shots to bolster the Bluejay lead.
“It’s tough to beat a team three times in one season,” said Bluejay head coach Dusty Veach after the win, alluding to his team’s tough battles with Telluride in the regular season, “so we installed two new offensive sets and a new wrinkle on defense during the week of practice.”
The new plans seemed to befuddle the Miners all afternoon.
Junior Andrew Jaime scored seven in the third quarter, helping Mancos claim their largest lead, 40-16, late in the third quarter, before the Miners posted a 12-0 run in the fourth quarter to put the Bluejay celebration on hold, albeit briefly. Veach added one more three-pointer - pushing the lead back to 17 - to put an exclamation point on the Bluejay district title.
“We brought energy right from the start, and they put it together today, especially on the defensive end,” added the Bluejay coach.
Wyatt led the way with 14 points, while Veach added 13, and Medina scored 10 in the win. Telluride’s Grayson Berry led the Miners with 13 points in the loss.
“Kaiden’s really learned to be patient,” said Veach of his sophomore post player, “and when he’s on, he’s really tough to stop.”
The Mancos boys will head to Golden for their regional assignment – hosted by No. 6 seed Golden View Classical Academy. The No. 22 Bluejays take on No. 11 Holly (17-5) in the opening round, with the winner moving on to take on either the host Sentinels (16-5) or No. 27 Akron (8-12).
In the girls bracket, the No. 20 Jays will prep for No. 13 Limon (15-6), as one semifinal in Dayspring Christian’s (Greeley) regional – as the No. 4 seeded Eagles (17-4) take on No. 29 Holly (11-11) in the other contest.
“I think if we go and play our best in our regional, we can walk away with no regrets,” said Veach, as both the Bluejay girls and boys programs get set for plenty of players to make their debuts in the regional tournament, with two wins next weekend sending the Bluejays to the state tournament in Loveland over the weekend of March 9-11.
After two regular season losses to their county rivals, Dolores saved their best effort for the 2A district 3 tournament semifinals. The Bears ran step-for-step with the top-seeded Jays, opening the fourth quarter with a Michel Millard three-pointer to close the deficit to 34-31, but couldn’t quite finish the game out, as Mancos posted a 51-43 win.
Mancos (15-5) posted a mini run to expand the lead to double figures, but the Bears (2-18) wouldn’t go away. Junior Mark Palate drained another long-range bucket to pull within single-digits again. The Jays, however, came up with enough answers, primarily through transition buckets and free throws, to keep the upset-minded Bears at bay.
A slow start against the host Demons in the district semifinals put the Dolores girls squad behind the eight ball, as the Bears saw their season come to an end, 42-26, against Ridgway. The Bears trailed 24-5 at the half, but put together a much more prolific offensive performance in the second half.
The rally proved to be too late, as the Bears capped off a 4-16 campaign in senior Chandler Smith’s final game.
