The Pagosa Springs High School Pirate basketball team improved 8-8 after three straight wins over the last week.
The Pirates began the streak with a 57-55 win over Bayfield at home on Friday, Jan. 30.
The Pirates took the lead early in the game, leading 13-8 at the end of the first and 32-25 at the half. Both teams scored 16 in the third, making it a 48-41 game heading into the final quarter.
With four minutes to go in the game the Pirates were up 10 points, but the Wolverines fought back to tie it up with under a minute left.
In the final seconds of the game, Creede Dozier made a pass to Duke Ketchum, who made a game-winning layup in front of the home crowd.
“You know, it’s always a fun one to win against Bayfield at your own place,” said coach Brandon Forster. “The last second shot [was] fun for us, [but] better for the crowd.”
The Pirates had three players finish in double figures. Ty Richey led the boys in scoring with 17 points, Dozier had 11 of his own and Ketchum scored 10. Jeremiah Jones and Jayton Ross each had eight points, and Kasen Limebrook scored three to round out the scoring.
As a team the Pirates shot 38 percent on free throws, 59 percent from the field and 57 percent from the 3-point line and assisted on 17 of their 23 made field goals.
They also grabbed 26 rebounds, led by six from Jones. Dozier and Richey each pulled down five, Ketchum had four, Ross had three, Bode Hubbard had two, and Jerry Dean had one.
The Pirates turned the ball over 15 times.
“I think, for us, we kind of started trusting ourselves to shoot the ball,” Forster said. “And watching it go in the hole kind of gets contagious.”
The Pirates then traveled to La Jara, where they beat the Centauri Falcons 37-27 on Saturday, Jan. 31.
The Pirates trailed 10-8 at the end of the first, and the teams were tied 19-19 at halftime.
The Pirates really tuned up their defense in the second half, holding the Falcons to only eight points, noted Forster, adding that, after starting out in a zone press, the boys moved into a man defense in the second half that helped them secure the win.
The Pirates outscored the Falcons 9-2 in the third and 9-6 in the fourth.
Dozier led the team in scoring with 14 points, Richey added eight, Jones had seven, Ketchum had four and Ross scored three points. Limebrook had one point to round out the scoring.
As a team, the Pirates shot 29 percent from the field, 36 percent on 3-pointers and 56 percent from the foul line. They assisted on nine of their 12 made field goals.
The team logged 28 rebounds. Jones led with nine, followed by five each by Dozier and Ketchum. Dean pulled down four, Richey notched three, and Limebrook and Ross each had one.
The Pirates turned the ball over 13 times.
“I felt like we kind of found our identity for the season as far as being more of a man team that can get out and help each other,” said Forster.
The Pirates got their third straight win on Tuesday, Feb. 5, beating Del Norte 82-46 at home.
Despite Del Norte battling hard in the first half, the boys were able to execute down the stretch and pull away, Forster explained.
The Pirates led 21-15 at the end of the first and 39-26 by halftime.
The Pirates then outscored the Tigers 21-8 in the third to move to a 60-34 lead heading into the fourth. The Pirates again bested Del Norte in the fourth, this time, 22-12, to finish with the 82-46 win.
Four Pirates finished the game in double-figures for scoring. Dozier once again led the team in scoring with 16 points, Ketchum and Ross each had 12 apiece, and Jones had 11. Limebrook added eight, Hubbard and Richey each had seven points and Koen Pitcher, Dean and Hudson Davis each had three points to round out the scoring for the Pirates.
As a team, the Pirates shot 50 percent from the field, 33 percent from the 3-point line and 78 percent from the free-throw line. They assisted on 17 of their 29 made field goals.
The Pirates totaled 39 rebounds, led by Dozier’s nine. Ketchum and Jones each logged seven, Richey had four and Pitcher had three. Dean, Limebrook, Davis and Ross each pulled down two. Hubbard notched one rebound.
The Pirates finished with 12 steals and turned the ball over 15 times.
Forster noted he got a chance to play a lot of his bench at the end of the game, giving guys who don’t play a whole lot the chance to get some minutes.
“It’s good to get all those guys in,” he said. “You know, that’s kind of what I want to do, build a program, give minutes to kids that will play next year.”
The Pirates have two more games left this week, with a chance to improve their record above .500 for the first time since Dec. 13, 2025.
First, the team will head to Monte Vista on Friday, Feb. 6, to take on the 3A Monte Vista Pirates, a team they beat earlier this year.
Monte Vista is 9-6 on the season.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Pagosa’s Pirates will then return to their home court on Saturday, Feb. 7, to host the Ignacio Bobcats.
The Bobcats, who the Pirates beat earlier this season, are 8-8 on the season.
Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.
Forster emphasized that the boys understand not to look ahead and only think one game at a time.
They’re realizing that they don’t have many more games left together, so they want to continue to put forth their best effort, he added.
“It’s always hard to beat a team twice, you know, in a year,” said Forster. “So, we’re not taking anything for granted.”
The Pirates are currently the No. 29 team in Colorado 4A boys’ basketball.
jsellner@orourkemediagroup.com
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