Coyotes Take MAC Tournament Championship

Potter-Dix's Coyote basketball team continued its strong start to the season by ripping through the competition with lopsided wins and ending up with a 49-32 victory against Bayard on Saturday night to earn the MAC Tournament Championship. The top-seeded Coyotes used their speed, passing game and solid shooting from the field for three straight wins against their conference competitors.

As the top seed, Potter-Dix started the tournament with a bye, and first matched up in the semifinals against Creek Valley after the No. 5 seed Storm defeated number four seed South Platte Thursday, 68-64.

Potter-Dix defeated Creek Valley 76-48 earlier in season in Chappell, and again started the game hot with senior Javon Coyle hitting a three-pointer followed by another two points by junior Brandon Mendoza for a quick 5-0 lead.

Creek Valley senior Oakley Hodges and junior Drew Fraas fired back with three point hits of their own to get on the board, and the Storm tightened their defense and chipped away to go into the second period down by five, 15-10.

Both teams played well with minimal turnovers through the half, and by intermission the Coyotes had built a nine point lead at 36-27. Potter-Dix extended their lead while Hodges fouled out in the third quarter to go into the fourth quarter with a 51-33 lead in the73-49 victory to earn their spot in the finals.

Coyote sophomore Luke Kasten led all scorers with 25 points, and even with an early exit Hodges led the Storm with 16 points in the loss. On Saturday night, Potter-Dix faced off against the Bayard Tigers, a team they had lost to by eight points earlier in the month. Potter-Dix Junior Thomas Muldoon opened the scoring by burying a three-pointer followed by Kasten hitting another three to give the Coyotes an early 6-1 lead. The Coyotes strong defense featured sophomore Zach Rotert blocking shots in the middle while the rest of the squad pressured Bayard and forced turnovers. Halfway through the first period, both teams had trouble handling the ball, with back-to-back turnovers by both teams stalling the scoring. Potter-Dix settled down and started scoring again and held a 16-5 lead, fueled by four three-point hits at the end of the first quarter.

Coyle continued his hot shooting and buried two three-pointers to start the second period, and the Coyotes built a 26-12 lead halfway through the quarter. But Potter-Dix started to miss too many three point shots as time wore down in the first half, and the Tigers clawed their way back, narrowing the lead to 26-17 at the intermission. A low-scoring third quarter had Bayard doing a good job jamming up the middle and causing turnovers, but the Tigers also had trouble scoring and the Coyotes led 31-23 going into the fourth quarter. Potter-Dix started the final frame with an 11-0 run and led by as much as 19 points as the were able to contain the Bayard offense and make their free throws down the stretch to end the game with a 49-32 victory.

Potter-Dix's Javon Coyle led all scorers with 19 points in the win.