Red Devils are this close to turning frustrating season around

Numbers don’t lie in sports, and Chaffee High School varsity boy’s basketball coach Josh Govreau knows that. However, statistics don’t often tell the entire story, and that is evident in analyzing the 2023-24 Red Devil season.

Chaffee improved to 9-14 with its recent 72-45 thumping of Delta, which doesn’t sound overly impressive. But you should take into account that nine of those 14 defeats have been in single digits.

“To go even further than that,” Govreau explained, “of those nine losses, in seven of them, we have led in the fourth quarter and still ended up losing.

“If you look at our record, you may not think that we are very tough.”

Woodland (19-5) isn’t going to fall for that, though, as the two teams meet tonight in Chaffee at 7:30 p.m.

Chaffee has won three of its last four games, and could have been four of five, had it not fallen in double-overtime at Oran recently.

“I tell the guys that they have to keep believing,” Govreau said. “It’s going to happen.”

That mojo has begun to swing for the Red Devils, as they end the regular season against the Cardinals, and prepare for Tuesday’s MSHSAA Class 2 District 3 game against Oran (4:30 p.m.) at Bloomfield.

In another numerical instance, and again, they don’t lie, Chaffee has made strides at both ends of the court over its recent seasons, even though the win-loss record may not show that.

The Red Devils are averaging nearly 58 points per game this season, which is the most offensively productive squad the program has had since the 18-win team from the 2017-18 season.

Seniors Shelton Simmons and Levi McKinnie combined for 40 points in the rout of the Bobcats on Tuesday.

“We’ve been in (a lot) of games,” Govreau said. “We just cannot find a way to close one out.”

The postseason match-up with the Eagles is an incredibly intriguing one. The two teams have met three times already this season, with Oran (10-14) winning by seven points twice, before hanging on for an 82-79 win at Oran in double-overtime earlier this month.

“We lost three close games with Oran,” Govreau said, “and they were all at Oran.

“I don’t want to have to play Oran again, but I am glad that we aren’t playing on their court.”

As much growth as the Red Devils have shown offensively, Govreau’s kids are working hard defensively, as well.

Chaffee foes are scoring just 53 points per game, which again, is the best number in six seasons.

“It stinks to lose to a team four times,” Govreau said of the Eagles. “Hopefully, we can go in there with a confident mindset, compete, and find a way to pull one out.”