The Pagosa Springs High School boys’ basketball team is looking ahead to its first conference play of the season after persevering through what coach Wes Lewis called the “meat grinder” portion of the season’s schedule.
“I’m not one to make a lot of excuses, but we’ve had a really tough schedule,” Lewis said. “We’re kind of through that now. We’re going to get into some more manageable games and hopefully we can continue to make strides.”
On Jan. 10 in Salida, the Pirates battled to keep close throughout the tight contest, eventually falling 45-42 after a late 3-pointer by the Spartans.
“With about 25 seconds to go, we tied it up and they came down and hit a three with about 11 seconds to go,” Lewis recalled.
Against Salida, Lewis highlighted play from Pirates Creede Dozier and Ty Richey, saying both “had a really solid night offensively.”
Hosting the 5A Durango Demons on Jan. 14, the Pirates kept within striking distance throughout the second and third quarters, frequently limiting the visitors to single-digit leads.
But Durango landed 3-pointers in the final minutes of the third to build a comfortable 66-38 cushion heading into the fourth.
The Demons held their hosts to just eight points in the game’s final quarter and added nine of their own, prevailing 75-46.
Recalling the dynamics of the game, Lewis praised the team’s performance after it sustained the loss of Richey, who injured his ankle during practice the day before.
“So, we lost Ty, and that’s a big loss for us,” Lewis said. “And so we were one man short to start with, but I thought the kids played well.”
He added, “We were pretty good in our turnovers, we only had 11 … on a team that pressed us for the duration of the game, so that was encouraging that we took care of the basketball for the most part.”
Lewis highlighted play from both Colt Lewis and Seth Zeigler — both of whom he said had “big offensive” games against the Demons.
Stats for the Jan. 10 and 14 games were not available as of press time Wednesday.
With the losses, the Pirates sit at 1-8 on the season as they prepare for their first league games against Monte Vista on Jan. 17 and Ignacio on Jan. 18.
“One of the things I really challenged the kids with at the Holy Family tournament was just competing — every possession, every quarter, every half, every game — make sure we’re competing on everything we do,” Wes Lewis said. “And I think we’re starting to see that a little bit more.”
With Richey’s status still in question, that fighting spirit will be all the more important as the team readies for the weekend play.
“We just got to do the best we can to keep spirits up and keep encouraged,” Wes Lewis said. “I think we are getting better in certain areas. There’s some things we got to do better, but I do see progress.”
Monte Vista, 5-2, is ranked 16th in the 3A Selection and Seeding Index.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday in Monte Vista.
Ignacio, 7-4, is ranked 28th; that game is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. Saturday in Ignacio.
In the 4A Selection and Seeding Index, Pagosa Springs is ranked 38th.
