Potter-Dix Coyotes make play for MAC title

Cross-county rivals Potter-Dix and Leyton matched up Monday night, Jan. 18, for the second time in four days.

The Warriors took the first stanza Friday night by a 54-41 score.

The second verse, however, played out a bit different.

Edward Barnes' trey with 2:43 left turned out to be the deciding note as the homestanding Coyotes avenged their earlier loss to the Warriors, 49-45, Monday night in the first round of the Minuteman Activities Conference Tournament.

The fourth-seeded Coyotes (5-6) move on to face top-seeded Minatare, a 51-41 winner over Bayard, at 3 p.m. Thursday at Sidney Middle School in the tournament semifinals.

Potter-Dix coach Ryan Mumm said the first matchup between the two teams gave the Coyotes the answers they needed to face the Warriors the second time around.

"After we played them the first time, it gave us a good chance to sit down and look at what they were doing," Mumm said. "The first time we played them, we got into some foul trouble early, so that definitely hurt us. I just felt like this time we came out more focused, more composed, and just executed down at the end."

The fourth quarter began as the game did - tied. With the game knotted at 35-all, the Warriors (5-6 took a 39-35 lead on a Zach Hellie layup and a pair of Skylar Schumacher free throws. The lead didn't last long, however, as the Coyotes put together a 5-0 run to take the lead on Cole Christensen's layup on an in bounds pass with 6:22 left in the game.

The two teams swapped leads three more times, as Leyton went up 43-42 on Jaydin Gartner's jumper in the lane with 3:12 left.

Barnes' 3-pointer made it a fourth lead change and gave Potter-Dix a 45-43 lead, and the home team never trailed again.

"We struggled a little bit from the free throw line, but we made enough to get the win, when we needed it," Mumm said.

The Coyotes extended their lead to 47-43 on Sam Bogert's floating runner in the lane, and got their final point on a Coby Hicks free throw. The Warriors' final bucket came on a Kenny Ernest layup with 19 seconds left.

Leyton had its chances after Potter-Dix took the lead for good, but missed three free throws and a few other shots in the final two and a half minutes of the game.

Mumm said the Coyotes' last few games have all been close, and that experience helped them close out the win Monday night.

"These last few games, they've all been pretty close," he said. "We played Kimball pretty close, we played Leyton pretty close, then we had a good, close win against Hay Springs. We told them before the game, these close games are going to help us, so when the time comes we'll be able to execute, and we did."

Kelsey Rozelle led Potter-Dix with 14 points, while Hicks added 10 and Christensen chipped in with nine. For Leyton, Hellie led the way with 11 points, Martin Boyer followed with 10 and both Schumacher and Ernest scored eight.

Mumm said advancing past Monday's game means a lot for the Coyotes.

"We did not want to sit at home the rest of the week," he said. "We wanted to play three games this week, we wanted to try to make some noise Thursday and Saturday."

Following Monday night's win, fourth-seeded Potter-Dix used a strong third quarter to oust top-seeded Minatare, 44-42, Thursday, Jan. 21, at Sidney Middle School in the semifinals of the Minuteman Activities Conference Tournament.

The Coyotes (6-6) trailed by two at halftime, 24-22, when they outscored the Indians 17-9 in the third quarter for a 39-31 lead heading into the final frame. Minatare (7-3) rallied in the fourth by outscoring Potter-Dix 9-5, but the Coyotes held on for the win.

Coby Hicks, who had several key baskets in the second quarter to keep Potter-Dix in the game, led the team with a double-double, scoring 17 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. Cole Christensen added 10 points in the game.

Yovan Perez poured in 30 points for the Indians, while the rest of the team managed just 12 as a group. Dominic Longoria added 8 points in the game.

The win moved Potter-Dix to the tournament championship game at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23, in the Sidney Middle School Gym. The Coyotes faced second-seeded Creek Valley, a 44-36 winner over Garden County.

A key third quarter run proved to be the difference for Creek Valley on Saturday night to claim the Minuteman Activities Conference Tournament championship against Potter-Dix.

The Storm used a 15-2 third quarter run, erasing a 21-18 halftime deficit, to defeat the Coyotes 44-36 in the MAC title game.

Brett Godfrey started the run with a layup, while the Storm took the lead on a Colin Brott layup and ensuing foul shot. The Coyotes' Noah Nelson hit a layup with 5:25 left in the quarter to tie the game at 23-all.

It was all Storm after that. Godfrey's 3-pointer at the 4:32 mark of the quarter put Creek Valley up 26-23 and started a run of 10 consecutive points. The Storm got back-to-back buckets and a free throw from Michael Rahe, and then a putback layup from Godfrey made it a 33-23 lead with 2:07 left in the quarter.

The Coyotes climbed back into the game with a trey and fast break bucket from Cole Christensen to cut the deficit to 33-30, but the Storm held the lead for the rest of the game.

Potter-Dix further cut into things in the fourth quarter, making it a 38-36 game on Coby Hicks' layup with 5:25 left in the game. Creek Valley's Michael Smith responded with a jumper as the Storm closed the game on a 6-0 run.

Godfrey led the Storm (9-6) offensively with 17 points, while Rahe added 9. Godfrey and Keith Everitt led the team with 7 rebounds each.

Christensen had a team-high 13 points for the Coyotes (6-7), while Hicks chipped in with 8 points. Christensen led the team with 7 rebounds, while Kelsey Rozelle added 6.

The teams battled back and forth early in the game with three ties and several lead changes. Rozelle's jumper at the buzzer put the Coyotes up 12-11 heading to the second quarter.

The Coyotes rolled out a 7-0 run to start the second quarter for a 19-11 lead, before the Storm responded with a 7-0 run their own to pull within 19-18. Hicks' jumper with one tick on the clock sent Potter-Dix to the locker room with a 21-18 halftime lead.