Photo by Wayne Crick

Douglas Hawkins (23) scores two of his team-high 14 points against Steamboat Springs on Saturday afternoon. Hawkins, and his Panther teammates, defeated the Sailors 61-44.

Delta defeated Moffat County on Friday (80-58) and helped their positioning for post-season seeding with a 61-44 win over the visiting Sailors on Saturday.

Steamboat Springs helped the Panthers with a 43-40 win over Palisade last Friday night. Palisade ends the regular season against Battle Mountain in Edwards on Friday (Feb. 17).

The Panthers regular season ended with the Palisade game on Feb. 14.

Eagle Valley (9-2, 17-5) is tied with Delta and Palisade at this time. The Devils finish their regular season in Glenwood this Friday. A loss to Glenwood and a win by the Panthers means an outright title for Delta.

Delta 80, MoCo 58

The margin of victory for Delta the last time these two teams met (Jan. 20) was 15 (73-58). Delta made it a sweep over the Bulldogs on Friday (Feb. 10) with an 80-58 victory at home. Delta played against Steamboat Springs on Saturday and, as with the second game against Moffat County, the Panthers increased their margin of victory the first time by seven, 61-44. The score was 54-44 on Jan. 21 in Steamboat Springs.

The wins give Delta a 16-5 overall record and a 9-2 mark in 4A WSL play.

Delta 80, MoCo 58

Senior Jake Ames had one of his best games of his career on Friday against the Bulldogs. Ames poured in 32 points, with at least seven points being scored in each of the four quarters played.

Delta got nine points from Ames in the opening stanza to help the Panthers to a 22-15 start.

Second-quarter play was nearly even with Moffat County earning an 18-17 edge. Ames had seven of the 17 counters for Delta in the period and had 16 points at halftime.

The Panthers kept their offensive effort active in the second half with an 18-13 advantage in the third quarter. Ames canned seven of the Panthers' points with teammates Colin Fraser and Blake Velasquez chipping in four points each.

There was little doubt as to the outcome of the contest after third-period play. Delta was nine of 10 from the charity stripe in a 23-12 run to make the final score 80-58. Ames' nine points led the way for Delta in the period.

Ames' 32 points was game-high in the scoring department with teammate Fraser chipping in 16 and Ethan Jack Baier and Velasquez contributing 10 each.

Tyler Hildebrandt finished the night with 13 points for Moffat County.

Delta 61, SS 44

The Panthers got off to a moderately good start against the Sailors on Saturday afternoon and finished the first period with a 16-15 lead. A seven-point effort from Colin Fraser kept the Panthers' offense running smoothly. Doug Hawkins was right behind the senior lefty with five points.

Second-quarter action wasn't as rewarding for Delta as the offensive wheels were mired in mud in an 11-5 surge for the Sailors. Delta trailed at halftime 26-21.

The mudholes dried up during the break and Delta got its offense back on the right track in a 19-10 run to retake the lead at 40-36. In the period, Jake Ames scored seven points with Hawkins and Chris Velasquez helping the cause with six points each.

In the fourth quarter, a stingy Delta defense limited the Sailors to just eight points while the Panthers' offense netted 21 markers.

Delta had four players in double figures with Hawkins' 14 leading the way and Velasquez's 13 close behind. Ames and Fraser had 12 and 11 points to add to the winning totals. Steamboat's Jake Miller paced the Sailor's offense with 13 points.