The Pagosa Springs High School Pirate basketball team and defending Intermountain League champ will begin its 2024-2025 campaign this week at home as hosts of the Wolf Creek Classic — the team’s first tournament play since a quarterfinal finish at the state playoffs in March.
The Pirates are the No. 4 team in the 4A preseason rankings.
The 4A Pirates, who last season compiled a perfect 10-0 Intermountain League record, will take on 4A Delta at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 5, followed by a 2:30 p.m. game versus 3A Gunnison on Dec. 7.
In addition to its league title, last season the Pirates advanced to the Great 8 — or the quarterfinals of the state championships — and compiled an overall record of 24-2.
With the loss of some key players from last season, coach Wes Lewis indicated he plans to look to his younger players to “step up and fill some voids” as the team heads into its first games of the season.
“We just got to go be good defensively, limit our turnovers, and we got to hit shots when we’re open,” the coach said. “We’ve got pretty decent guard play, some very strong bigs — they’re strong kids and they’re good basketball players,” Lewis said.
At the Wolf Creek Classic, Lewis’ eye will be focused on fundamentals while he and his coaching staff work to solve a perennial riddle: how to build a new team with the new talent on the floor.
“There’re some things we can do that we couldn’t do with last year’s group,” he said. “You got to build your philosophy around the kids that you have, and it’s a little different every year, especially at the high school level.”
Schedule
The following schedule was accurate as of press time Wednesday, but is subject to change.
Following this week’s Wolf Creek Classic, the Pirates are scheduled to travel for extended tournament play beginning Dec. 19 at the Black Canyon Classic in Montrose. There, the Pirates will face the hosts at 7 p.m. on Dec. 19, followed by a 4 p.m. game against Glenwood Springs on Dec. 20 and a matchup with Pueblo Central at 11:30 a.m. on Dec. 21.
The Pirates will then head to Broomfield for the Holy Family Invite, where they will face the 4A hosts at 7 p.m. on Jan. 3, 2025, then 4A Peak to Peak Charter at 1:30 p.m. the following day.
The team’s first home game of 2025 is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Jan. 7, when they will host the 2A Sanford Mustangs.
On Jan. 10, 2025, the Pirates are scheduled to travel to Salida for a 7 p.m. game against the 3A Spartans.
A home game versus the 5A Durango Demons is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Jan. 14, 2025, followed by two consecutive road games against 3A opponents: first Monte Vista at 7 p.m. on Jan. 17, 2025, and then Ignacio at 4 p.m. the next day.
Back home, the squad will host 4A Alamosa at 7 p.m. on Jan. 24, 2025, and 4A Montezuma-Cortez at 2 p.m. on Jan. 25, 2025.
The Pirates will then head to Del Norte for a 7 p.m. game against the 2A Tigers on Jan. 28, 2025, followed by a trip to Bayfield for a 7 p.m. game against the 3A Wolverines on Jan. 31, 2025.
The squad will enjoy home court advantage heading into February as they host the 3A Centauri Falcons at 4 p.m. on Feb. 1, 2025, Monte Vista at 7 p.m. on Feb. 7, 2025, and Ignacio at 4p.m. on Feb. 8, 2025.
On Feb. 14, 2025, the team is scheduled to travel to Alamosa to face off against the Mean Moose at 7 p.m. before traveling the next day to visit Montezuma-Cortez at 4 p.m.
The Pirates’ final regular-season home game is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Feb. 21, 2025, against Bayfield. They will wrap up regular-season play in La Jara for a 4 p.m. game against the Centauri Falcons on Feb. 22, 2025.
