The Pagosa Springs High School Pirate basketball team went 1-1 over the last week, moving to 5-8 overall on the season and sitting as the No. 36 team in Colorado 4A boys’ basketball.
The Pirates started the week off on the road against the Alamosa Mean Moose on Friday, Jan. 23, with the Pirates coming home with the 56-44 win.
“It was tough to play at Alamosa, but we really were able to kind of limit them using our press and create some turnovers, giving ourselves a chance to win,” said coach Brandon Forster. “So, it was a good win for us.”
The Pirates jumped out to a 15-6 lead after the first quarter. They bested Alamosa in the second quarter as well, extending their lead to 10 at half.
The Mean Moose came out of halftime and scored 16 in the third quarter and reclaimed some life in the game due to a lack of execution at times from the Pirates, explained Forster.
The Pirates were able to hold on, outscoring the Mean Moose 13-10 in the fourth quarter and winning by 12.
The Mean Moose, who are the No. 38 team, are now 6-8 on the season.
Creede Dozier led the team with 17 points, Jeremiah Jones had 14 and Ty Richey finished with 10. Jayton Ross added seven, Bode Hubbard had six and Duke Ketchum scored two points to round out the scoring.
The Pirates pulled down 27 total rebounds, led by Ketchum’s eight. Richey logged seven, Jones tallied six, and the Pirates saw two each from Hubbard, Dozier and Jerry Dean.
As a team the Pirates shot 49 percent from the field, 11 percent from the 3-point line and 65 percent from the foul line. They assisted on 10 of their 19 made field goals, and finished with 27 rebounds, 10 steals and 18 turnovers.
“[We] kind of gave up some points and let them get some life,” said Forster. “But, it was good for us in learning how to, when teams are coming back, keep the lead and what do we need to do in order to win?”
The Pirates returned home on Saturday, Jan. 24, for a matchup against Montezuma-Cortez.
The Pirates lost 76-48, but the Pirates were in the game for the first three quarters.
“We kind of hung with them and they hit a lot of shots for all four quarters and we just, that fourth quarter kind of ended up biting us,” said Forster. “We just didn’t make a lot of our shots.”
At the end of the first, Cortez held a 17-15 lead. The Panthers outscored the Pirates 21-11 in the second to hold a 38-26 lead at halftime.
After outscoring the Panthers 18-12 in the third quarter, the Pirates were down only six heading into the fourth quarter.
The Panthers continued to hit their shots in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Pirates 26-4 in the final frame.
The Panthers, who sit as the No. 3 team, are 15-0 on the season.
Dozier once again led the Pirates in scoring, posting 11 points. Ketchum added nine; Jones scored seven; Dean, Hubbard and Richey each had six; and Kasen Limebrook had three to round out the scoring.
Jones led the team in rebounding with five, followed by three from Dean. Dozier, Ketchum and Limebrook pulled down two each, and Hubbard logged one. The team totaled 15 rebounds.
The Pirates shot 33 percent from the field, 38 percent on 3-pointers and 81 percent from the free-throw line. They assisted on seven of their 15 made field goals, and finished with eight steals and 17 turnovers.
“You can’t have a comeback if you don’t have a setback,” said Forster. “I feel like these guys are ready to get back to work. They were intense yesterday during practice and we’re not going to let one bad quarter hold us down.”
The Pirates have two games this weekend.
The first is a home matchup against the Bayfield Wolverines, who are 10-4 on the season and the No. 19 in Colorado 3A boys’ basketball, on Friday, Jan. 30.
Action is set to begin at 7 p.m.
Friday’s matchup with Bayfield is a rivalry game that Forster noted he feels will be an interesting matchup.
The Wolverines have a lot of length, but the Pirates will have the home-court advantage and the student section has been awesome all year, added Forster.
The next day, Saturday, Jan. 31, the Pirates will travel to La Jara to take on the 3A Centauri Falcons.
The Falcons are 6-8 on the season and sit at No. 30.
Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.
jsellner@orourkemediagroup.com
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