Montezuma-Cortez junior guard Trey Hall led the Panthers to a 56-44 win over Rifle in the 4A state tournament. (Truman Begaye/Special to the Tri-City Record)
Lee Begaye
M-CHS set for 1 p.m. clash with The Classical Academy on Saturday with state berth on the line
CORTEZ – Everything becomes more difficult in the postseason, and the Panthers entered the second half of their opening round encounter against Rifle in the 4A state tournament in need of a breakthrough.
Junior Trey Hall and senior Trace Hartsoe provided the jolt the Panthers needed to finally spring themselves free from a battle with the No. 31 Bears, snapping the M-CHS playoff hex and sending the Panthers into the regional final against The Classical Academy on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. The Panthers ended their four-game playoff drought – dating back to the program’s last Great Eight appearance in 2019 – with a 56-44 victory over the Bears.
Sophomore Ah-dae Lang kept the Panthers in the contest after Rifle landed the early punches to the tune of an 8-1 advantage for the visitors, as Lang produced all eight of his points before going down with an injury early in the second quarter. Lang’s Panthers teammates rallied around him, chipping away at the first half deficit before finally taking the lead at 21-19 on an and-one bucket from Hall.
Rifle scored six of the next eight points to restore their lead, 25-23, as the team’s headed to the locker room. In the second half, M-CHS (24-0) turned up their defense an extra notch, keeping the Bears scoreless for the first five minutes of the third quarter while M-CHS surged in front, thanks in part to five points from Hartsoe during the decisive run. Classmate Wyatt Oliver added all four of his points as the Panthers kept ballooning the lead to 48-31 early in the fourth quarter.
The Bears (10-14) closed with a 7-0 run, and briefly had the game back to single-digits at 50-41 on a Baden Phillips three-pointer with three minutes left, but M-CHS slowed down their final possessions and sophomore Royce Watts and Hall made free throws to shut down the upset bid.
The Panthers were led by 22 points from Hall, while Lang and Hartsoe added eight apiece, while Watts chipped in with a half dozen as the M-CHS defense limited the Bears to just seven field goals in the second half. RHS seniors Alexander Gonzalez and Adan Medina co-led the Bears in scoring with 13 points.
M-CHS moves on to take on No. 18 The Classical Academy (15-9) on Saturday at 1 p.m. after the Titans rallied from a first half deficit to clip No. Manitou Springs 47-40 in their regional semifinal action. The winner of the regional final moves on to the Denver Coliseum on Wednesday, Mar. 11 for the state quarterfinals. The Panthers-Titans contest will be available on local radio station 98.7 FM KRTZ and online at krtzradio.com.
