The Dolores Bears (4-15) fell to the Ridgway Demons (11-9) on Tuesday, 59-20, in the Class 2A District 3 tournament play-in game, ending their season.
The Bears started the game without senior Branden Donaldson, who was suspended after being ejected against Mancos last week, and after starting in his place, senior Josh McCoy left in the first quarter with a dislocated finger.
The short-handed Bears had trouble tallying points, finishing without a player scoring in the double-digits, while Ridgway got 21 points from senior Grant Saville and 18 from senior Eli Hagemeyer.
“No excuses,” head coach Larry Schwartz said of the loss. “We shot 14-perecent on the game, for whatever reason, we couldn’t get shots to fall.”
“They out-rebounded us and they didn’t miss very many shots on their own,” he continued. “Ridgway, for three quarters, was just on fire.”
After leading 33-8 at half, the Demons cruised to a 59-20 win to secure a date with Ignacio (17-2) on Friday in the district tournament.
While the Bears’ final record is settled at 4-15, Schwartz noted how differently things could have played out.
Of Dolores’ 15 losses, nine were by less than 10 points, including one-point losses against Sangre de Cristo (42-41), Telluride (44-43) and a one-point overtime loss to Ridgway (50-49) earlier in the season.
“It’s a little disappointing that we couldn’t close the deal on a few of those close games,” said Schwartz. “But I’m proud of the progress those guys made, the seniors especially, how far they’ve come.”
The Bears will graduate six seniors from their varsity roster, but Schwartz noted that the freshman and junior varsity teams each finished with winning records, and that his younger players are ready to step up to the varsity level for next year.
“Those freshman boys and sophomores are ready to step up and take control,” he said. “And we’re pretty excited about that.”