{"id":30237,"date":"2023-12-08T01:45:01","date_gmt":"2023-12-08T08:45:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/m-chs-boys-basketball-looks-to-outrun-opposition\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T01:15:01","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T07:15:01","slug":"m-chs-boys-basketball-looks-to-outrun-opposition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/m-chs-boys-basketball-looks-to-outrun-opposition\/","title":{"rendered":"M-CHS boys basketball looks to outrun opposition"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"M-CHS
M-CHS senior Easton Hartsoe breaks away from Monticello's Mason Atwood after a steal in a contest at Monticello High School.<\/span>Ben Bradley\/Special to The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

CORTEZ \u2013 Across the country, different state athletic associations are adopting the shot clock as the latest wrinkle in the high school basketball landscape. While the change won\u2019t officially hit the Centennial State for a couple more years, M-CHS has gleaned a sneak preview of the changes to come with games against opposition in states \u2013 Arizona and Utah \u2013 where the 35-shot clock is already implemented.<\/p>\n

For the Panther boys basketball team, the shot clock may get as much as use as a public pay phone.<\/p>\n

\"M-CHS
M-CHS head coach Mike Hall discusses strategy with his team during a timeout in a contest at Monticello High School.<\/span>Ben Bradley\/Special to The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"M-CHS
M-CHS junior Ben Hoffman goes up for a lay-up above two Monticello defenders in a contest at Monticello High School.<\/span>Ben Bradley\/Special to The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"M-CHS
M-CHS senior Easton Hartsoe rises for a shot over Monticello's Aaron Gillette in a contest at Monticello High School.<\/span>Ben Bradley\/Special to The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"M-CHS
M-CHS freshman Trey Hall crosses midcourt to set up a play in a contest at Monticello High School.<\/span>Ben Bradley\/Special to The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"M-CHS
M-CHS junior Tay Wheat runs the floor on a fastbreak with teammate Ridge Hathale trailing the play in a contest at Monticello High School.<\/span>Ben Bradley\/Special to The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"M-CHS
M-CHS junior Caidin Leonard fires a three-pointer in a contest at Monticello High School.<\/span>Ben Bradley\/Special to The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

M-CHS continues their run-and-gun brand of basketball under tenth-year head coach Mike Hall, hoping to produce a return visit to the 3A state tournament. In the meantime, fans filling The Jungle this winter can brace themselves from whiplash as the Panthers fly from end to end, with a speedy group hoping to play disruptive defense and turn every steal into an opportunity to break.<\/p>\n

So far, the results have been eye-catching \u2013 the Panthers shone in the Page, Arizona-hosted Antelope Canyon Classic \u2013 recording two wins against Arizona opposition \u2013 before toppling Monticello, 74-44, to improve to 3-1.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m thrilled with how unselfish this team is,\u201d said Hall after their most recent victory over the Buckaroos, \u201cour boys move the ball quickly; they\u2019ve really developed trust for each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ten different Panthers scored in the win, as M-CHS fields a roster still gaining experience playing at the varsity level.<\/p>\n

Easton Hartsoe, one of three seniors on the roster, has become emblematic of this year\u2019s group, taking on a new role as an interior presence for a guard-heavy Panther squad.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re asking a lot of Easton, and he\u2019s accepted the role,\u201d added Hall of Hartsoe\u2019s move to serve as last line of defense, despite giving up size at the position, \u201cand he and our other seniors [Gael Garcia and Raul Soto] along with junior Caidin Leonard, have really stepped up as leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith what we lost to graduation last year, we knew we\u2019d have to make up for the size,\u201d said Hartsoe, \u201cand now we\u2019re trying to bring out the best parts of each of our guys this year so we can work together well as a whole unit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Leonard, working back from injury, presents a prolific deep threat for M-CHS. Classmate Tay Wheat has taken the primary point guard duties, while freshman Trey Hall has made an immediate impression in his first action at the high school level.<\/p>\n

All told, a high-octane offense means that the Panthers need depth off the bench to continue to play at a breakneck speed. Wins over Monument Valley (AZ) (46-44) and Estrella Foothills (AZ) (64-44) required a gritty, full-team effort, while a loss to Rancho (NV) (84-37) reminded Hall and the Panthers of some of the battles they can look forward to in the 4A\/3A Intermountain League beginning in January.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe speed of the game is dramatically different,\u201d said Hall of many of his players who are making the jump from junior varsity or middle school ball to now take on prominent roles with the varsity squad, \u201cand valuing the importance of every defensive possession.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Wednesday\u2019s win over Monticello, plenty of players seeing their first significant varsity action stepped up to the occasion. Hall led all scorers with 21 points, but for a Panther squad lacking tremendous length inside, it was the interior game that separated themselves from the Buckaroos. Garcia finished with nine points, joining sophomore Trace Hartsoe with eight and junior Ridge Hathale with seven. Wheat added seven, while Easton Hartsoe scored six in the balanced attack.<\/p>\n

Incisive passing in the paint between the post players set up easy buckets for teammates, something which Hathale recognized as a critical element to the Panthers\u2019 success. \u201cWe believe in each other,\u201d said Hathale, \u201cand it starts with good communication \u2013 and we know that we\u2019re going to need to continue to do all the little things well \u2013 rebounding and hustling \u2013 so we can keep coming out with a \u2018W\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of summer ball helped us come together as a team,\u201d said Leonard of the team\u2019s new dynamic, \u201cand we\u2019re a bunch of smart basketball players, so if we make mistakes, we\u2019ll be able to adjust and learn from it.\u201d<\/p>\n

M-CHS tips off their home schedule against San Juan on Tuesday, Dec. 12 for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff against the Broncos. From there, the Panthers head to the Grand Valley for a trio of contests against Western Slope foes on Dec. 14-16 to head into the winter break. The Panthers-Broncos duel on Tuesday is available on local radio station KRTZ 98.7 FM and krtzradio.com \u2013 with the Panther girls kicking off the broadcast with a 6 p.m. contest against San Juan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Panthers flying high with 3-1 start<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30238,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[38,39,28,37,36],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-30237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-dolores-high-school","tag-dove-creek-high-school","tag-headlines","tag-mancos-high-school","tag-montezuma-cortez-high-school"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30237"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30237\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81010,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30237\/revisions\/81010"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30237"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=30237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}