Guaranteed to finish with a winning record for the first time since 2005, the Montezuma-Cortez High School boys basketball team will play in the opening round of the Class 3A State Tournament when it takes on Stapleton High School in Denver on March 2.
The Panthers will need their game against Stapleton as the 32-team tournament’s 25th-ranked team. Stapleton enters the state tournament as the No. 8 seed after finishing its regular season with an 18-4 record overall and an 11-1 record in the Frontier League.
M-CHS’ state seeding followed a solid performance in the Class 3A Intermountain League District Tournament that resulted in the Panthers finishing third overall. M-CHS opened the tournament with a 63-60 victory over Centauri before falling to Alamosa, 70-31, in the second round.
The Panthers finished out the district tournament with a 70-50 victory over Monte Vista. With the victory, M-CHS improved its record to 12-10 overall. The Panthers finished their season with a 4-6 record in the Intermountain League.
While the outcome of the State Tournament contest between M-CHS and Stapleton is difficult to predict since the two teams faced no common opponent, the outcome of the game could hinge on the Panthers’ ability to contain Stapleton senior Victor Jones, who averaged 18.7 points per game this season.
Also figuring to play a key role for Stapleton will be junior Andray Thomas, Jr., who averaged 13.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game from the forward position despite standing just 6-feet-1 and weighing only 167 pounds.
Key players for M-CHS figure to be sophomore shooting guard Teagan Whiteskunk, who averaged 17.2 points per game this season, and senior forward Jasen Engel, who averaged 14.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.
Forward Cordell Baer could be an X-factor for the Panthers as the junior, who averaged 10.7 points and 9 rebounds per game, has shown the ability to dominate the paint at times this year.
In the event that the Panthers upset Stapleton, they would advance to a Sweet Sixteen matchup against the winner of a game between Strasburg High School and The Pinnacle High School in Denver on March 3.