For long stretches, the Montezuma-Cortez High School basketball team went toe-to-toe with two Southwest League foes.
Two poor quarters doomed the Panthers, however, as M-CHS opened its league schedule with home losses to Grand Junction Central and Grand Junction High School last weekend.
Panthers fall to GJ Central
Playing against Grand Junction Central on Jan. 23, the Panthers fell behind early en route to a 49-44 loss.
M-CHS was outscored 19-5 during a first quarter that saw Central sophomore Kyle Blair score 9 of his game-high 22 points.
“(Central) had a huge first quarter, and we had an awful one,” said Panthers head coach Michael Hall. “We came out slow, and we couldn’t get things going. Our kids had some jitters knowing that it was the first league game.”
After keying on Blair throughout the second quarter, M-CHS cut Central’s lead to 22-17 by halftime. M-CHS then narrowed the gap to 46-44 with less than a minute left in the game.
“We were one shot away,” said Hall. “Walck was open for a three-pointer with just over 30 seconds left, but the ball hit the back rim and bounced out. We were forced to foul, and that was the ballgame.”
Walck led the Panthers in scoring with 14 points. Senior forward Walter Parker scored 10 points, and sophomore center Seth Long had eight.
“It’s nice to have those big guys inside,” said Hall. “Jonathan is a great leader, Walter is a great scorer, and Seth is so physical and strong.”
M-CHS defeated by Grand Junction
Matching up against Grand Junction High School on Jan. 24, M-CHS remained competitive for three quarters before losing 80-65.
M-CHS trailed 21-19 at the end of the first quarter before coming back to take a 37-33 halftime lead. The Panthers trailed 50-45 at the end of the third quarter.
“We came out and played the first three quarters like we finished the last three quarters against Central,” said Hall. “The third quarter went both ways, and the fourth quarter, we ran out of gas.”
Senior shooting guard Konnar McGee his five three-pointers and led M-CHS in scoring with 22 points. Walck scored 19 and Parker chipped in 10.
“I’ve been waiting for Konnar to come out and have some confidence in his shot,” said Hall. “He lost that earlier in the year. He was finally able to get of the slump he was in.”
Now 5-7 on the season, the Panthers will return to action on Jan. 27 when they hit the road to face league rival Durango. Hall said that he expects the game to be intense.
“The rivalry is always fun and the kids should be ready,” Hall said. “Durango is a fast paced, up-tempo basketball team, and they have two very good guards. We’re going to have to shut them down and play our tempo of basketball.”