<\/p>\n
Facing off against Montezuma-Cortez High School Thursday night, the Mancos High School basketball team was not supposed to win. Schools with 125 students are not supposed to defeat schools nearly five times their size.<\/p>\n
But thanks to expert game planning by up-and-coming second-year head coach Elijah Knepper and a surprising scoring effort by senior Anthony Medina, the Bluejays walked away with a surprising 61-60 victory.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, it\u2019s huge,\u201d said Knepper, when asked to describe the significance of his team\u2019s win. \u201cI thought we competed our (butts) off tonight. I don\u2019t want to say that (the win) is a program changer because we don\u2019t want it to define us, but it feels really good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among the decisions that factored heavily into the Mancos victory was Knepper\u2019s decision to employ a box-and-one defense against M-CHS senior Teagan Whiteskunk, who has ranked as one of the state\u2019s top scorers in recent seasons.<\/p>\n
Chased by sophomore Connor Showalter throughout much of the evening and swarmed by multiple defenders every time he touched the ball, Whiteskunk scored five points, which represented the senior\u2019s lowest scoring output since his freshman season.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of our keys to the game was to contain number 30,\u201d Knepper said, when asked about Whiteskunk. \u201cWe had a bunch of different looks that we were ready to throw at him. Fortunately, we just had to use the box-and-one on him. It was an unbelievable effort slowing him down; he\u2019s a great player.\u201d<\/p>\n
Also factoring significantly in the Mancos victory was a somewhat unexpected offensive outburst by senior Anthony Medina, who matched the physicality of M-CHS\u2019 post players while scoring a team-high 18 points.<\/p>\n
Prior to Thursday night, Medina, who stars as a football player and has generally come off the bench for the Bluejays\u2019 basketball team, had scored in double digits only twice in his high school career.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was probably the biggest game that we\u2019ve ever won while I\u2019ve been here,\u201d Medina said. \u201cComing out and beating a really good (Class 3A) school just around the corner, it\u2019s a good feeling. Our team really hustled.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Medina ended up as the Bluejays\u2019 top scorer, the early stages of the contest was dominated Connor Showalter, who knocked down two early 3-pointers and scored six of his 14 total points during a first quarter that ended with Mancos leading 20-17.<\/p>\n
The Bluejays continued to dictate the pace in the second quarter and entered halftime leading 32-28 in spite of five points and several steals by M-CHS senior Adrian Mark, whose quickness and athleticism presented difficulties for Mancos\u2019 guards.<\/p>\n
A strong first half from Titus Jackson also allowed M-CHS to stay close as the senior consistently attacked the rim and staked his claim to the title of best athlete on the floor while scoring 11 of his game-high 22 points in the first quarter.<\/p>\n
\u201cTitus had a great game,\u201d M-CHS head coach Michael Hall said. \u201cThey did a box-and-one on Teagan the whole night, so Titus had to pick up a lot more of the scoring and he did. He had a good all-around game.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the game hung in the balance early in the second half, the Bluejays did their best to feed the ball to Caden Showalter, and the senior responded with several assists and four of his 12 total points.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Panthers offense got its scoring punch from senior Blake Keetch, whose deft shooting touch and nine third-quarter points allowed M-CHS to carry a 45-43 lead into the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n
With noise reverberating off of the walls of Mancos\u2019 newly renovated historic gym and fans on both sides cheering their teams\u2019 every move, the fourth quarter got underway with M-CHS initially seizing momentum and extending its lead to 51-47 after a jumper by Jackson.<\/p>\n
After the teams traded buckets during much of the next three minutes, Mancos junior Christian Cova, who had been trading trash talk with several M-CHS players throughout the second half drained a corner 3-pointer to give his team a 60-57 lead with 2:20 left in the contest.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh yeah, I love it when people talk to me,\u201d said Cova, who scored 13 points in the contest. \u201cIt just hypes me up. It\u2019s good.\u201d<\/p>\n
A pair of clutch free throws by Keetch with 1:32 left in the game allowed M-CHS to cut its deficit to 60-59, and just over a minute later, with Mancos leading 61-60, Jackson drove into the lane and was fouled with nine seconds left in the game.<\/p>\n
Jackson missed both of his free throws but rebounded his second miss and gave his team one final opportunity. As the senior drove into the lane however, he was called for a charge and Mancos regained possession with 5 seconds left.<\/p>\n
After Caden Showalter was fouled and missed two free throws with 3.9 seconds left, M-CHS had a final chance at a win, but was forced to settle for a wild 3-pointer by Mark that missed the rim as time ran out.<\/p>\n
As Mancos players gathered near center court and enthusiastically celebrated one of their team\u2019s biggest wins in recent memory, fans roared their approval as if to announce that the Bluejays\u2019 basketball program is officially back on the map.<\/p>\n
\u201cMan, I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever been in front of a crowd this loud in Mancos,\u201d Caden Showalter said. \u201cIt\u2019s awesome because we have the new gym, and the older dome makes it sound so good. It\u2019s loud \u2013 you can barely hear the coach \u2013 but it\u2019s nice.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the win proved to be a big one for Mancos, which will enter Christmas break with a 4-2 record overall, the game left the M-CHS searching for ways to improve heading into the new year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a lot of learning to do,\u201d Hall said. \u201cWhenever we get in pressure situations, we turn into a one-on-one basketball team. We\u2019ve got to stop that and rely on our teammates to pass the ball. Our defense was a lot better tonight than it has been in the past, but we have a lot of improvements to make.\u201d<\/p>\n
Next up for the Bluejays will be a home game against Center High School on Jan. 10. The Panthers will play their next game at home against Durango on Jan. 10.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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