The Mancos Blue Jays (9-12) will play again.
But for a while last weekend, their future was uncertain.
On Friday, the Jays opened the Class 2A District 3 tournament against the Telluride Miners (9-12), whom they had beaten by 16 points just weeks earlier.
However, the Miners threw a 1-3-1 zone – with occasional traps – at the Blue Jays, and Mancos’ offense struggled.
“We were trying to get the ball down low and attack and we didn’t do that,” said Mancos head coach Rodney Cox. “We didn’t have any high-post presence. It was frustrating.”
Andrew Plunkett scored seven first-half points, and although senior Ro Paschal scored nine, he picked up his third foul midway through the second quarter and would sit until halftime.
The Miners went to the break with a 27-20 lead, and their defense held Mancos to just six points in the third quarter, and Telluride led by 22 to begin the final frame.
Cox said his team’s early struggles weren’t caused by a lack of energy, rather a shortfall in execution.
However, the Blue Jays caught fire in the fourth.
Paschal scored eight in the final frame, senior Adrian Hernandez added seven and Andrew Christensen knocked down two triples to bring Mancos within five points with a minute to go.
The Jays would narrow the lead to four with 52 seconds left, but Telluride would close out the game with free throws down the stretch to win, 53-47.
After falling to Telluride on Friday, the Blue Jays would have one last shot to extend their season in a game against Ridgway on Saturday.
“We either win and go on, or lose and go home, we’re done,” Cox said after Friday’s loss. “And they don’t want to be done.”’
The Jays went right inside to start Saturday’s contest. But even with six points from Plunkett and four from Paschal, they trailed 12-10 after one.
But in the second, Christensen showed his range again, knocking down two 3-pointers, and Paschal added six points and Hernandez four, as the Jays knotted the game at 27 at the break.
Paschal and Hernandez again led the Mancos offense in the third quarter, but the Demons leaned on senior Hasten Beamer to jump back in front by two to start the fourth.
In the final quarter, the Jays were able to fluster Beamer with smothering defense by sophomore Griff Huver.
“Don’t let him touch it,” Cox said explaining his defensive plan against Beamer. “I told Griff, ‘meet him out of the time-outs. Just be there when he comes out.’”
With Huver breathing down Beamer’s neck, the two teams vied back-and-forth for the lead in the final eight minutes, and the Blue Jays used free throws to pull away.
Christensen knocked down 3-of-4 to give Mancos a 57-56 lead with just over a minute remaining, and then the Jays forced a Ridgway turnover on the ensuing possession.
From there, Mancos was able to burn clock, and later sent Plunkett and Hernandez to the free-throw line to close out the contest.
The Blue Jays shot 11-of-14 from the stripe in the final eight minutes to secure a 60-56 win, and their spot in the regional tournament this weekend in Alamosa.
