For the Dolores High School boys basketball team, last week turned out to be constructive, even though it ended without a Bears win.
Bears lose in overtime to Ouray
Kicking off the week's play at home against Ouray, the Bears delivered one of their most entertaining games in recent memory, narrowly losing 64-63 in overtime.
After a hotly contested first half that ended with the Bears leading 28-27, Dolores expanded its lead to 45-42 by the end of a well played third quarter.
Refusing to concede the game however, Ouray battled back, outscoring the Bears 11-8 in the final quarter to send the game to overtime.
"It was a lot of fun," said Bears coach Larry Schwartz. "It was a battle back and forth all night."
Unfortunately for the Bears, the battle finally swung in Ouray's favor as the Trojans outscored the Bears 11-10 in the overtime period.
Leading Ouray in scoring were sophomore Nate Fedel (18 points) and senior Derek Hanshaw (17 points).
Playing especially well for the Bears was senior Jakob Rudosky, who, according to Schwartz, did an excellent job of running the offense and maintaining his poise.
"Ben Lykins also had a great game assist-wise, scoring and rebounding," said Schwartz.
Bears fall victim to physical Centauri
One day after their tough overtime loss, the Bears hit the road to face off against Centauri, which, utilizing a physical style of play, beat Dolores 71-34.
Even with the lopsided loss however, Schwartz was pleased with his team's ability to battle Centauri's physical frontcourt players for four consecutive quarters.
"They are big physical kids and the referees in the valley let you play physical," said Schwartz. "My kids loved it and it was a good experience for them."
With their record now at 4-7, the Bears face a tough test this weekend with road games against league powers Ignacio (Jan. 30) and Norwood (Feb. 1).