When the Durango High School boys basketball team joined the Shiprock Chieftain Tournament to open the 2016-17 season, it probably expected to play some of New Mexico’s bigger schools.
That wasn’t the case when the bracket came out for the eight-team invitational, as the Demons won’t see Shiprock or Aztec.
“It is what it is. We’ll play the schedule in front of us, get that résumé up and build confidence in these early games we can be in,” DHS head coach Alan Batiste said.
Durango’s varsity squad opened the year with a 64-26 win against Shiprock Northwest. DHS senior Kyle Kirkpatrick led the Demons with 15 points. Steven Wyman, another senior, added 11 points, and senior Josh Whidden scored nine. All of the Demons got into the mix for a well-balanced scoring sheet.
The Demons used a good size advantage to control the game.
“We outrebounded them on the offensive and defensive end by a good margin,” Batiste said. “Then we got some easy buckets. The transition helped us out a lot, too.”
DHS will play again at 1:30 p.m. Friday against Window Rock before taking on Red Mesa at 12:30 p.m. Saturday. The Durango JV team is also in the tournament and will play the same three small schools.
Shiprock will visit Durango Dec. 17, giving the Demons a chance to square off with the Chieftains down the road.
Four players reached double-digit scoring, and every Bobcat had at least four points in a big win to open the season.
The Ignacio High School boys basketball team cruised to a 76-17 win after going up 20-2 in the first quarter and 35-4 at halftime.
Johnny Valdez led the way with 17 points, with Kai Roubideaux adding 16. Cole McCaw scored another 12 points, and Kruz Pardo had 11 in the season-opening win for the Bobcats.
IHS did it all with only three made 3-pointers and 4-of-5 shooting from the free-throw line. Transition baskets led to easy layups, as did players making cuts to the basket and receiving crisp passes.
“We were a little sluggish and out of shape, but the kids played hard,” IHS head coach Chris Valdez said. “The big thing was the hustle and focus. We lost a lot of players from last year and have some kids out with eligibility issues and suspended for quitting another sport mid-season, but the guys out there worked very hard.”
Valdez was especially happy to see more than 75 percent of his team’s baskets come with an assist.
IHS won’t play again until Dec. 13 at home against Dolores.
Girls Basketball
Girls BasketballAfter what head coach Shane Seibel called an “interesting” first quarter, the Ignacio Bobcats put away Dove Creek.
The Ignacio girls basketball team cruised to a 45-18 victory. Avionne Gomez, the team’s lone returning senior starter from a year ago, led the way with 14 points, six rebounds and six steals.
Seibel credited freshmen MaKayla Howell and Larissa Gallegos for their strong play in their varsity debuts.
He also was impressed with the way senior Tori Archuleta controlled the ball. She finished with six points.
The Bobcats did suffer a loss, as forward Allisianna Baker re-injured her knee.
“That crimps us a bit,” Seibel said.
IHS (1-0) will get back to work with a week of practice before meeting Nucla at 5:30 p.m. next Friday in the opening round of the Montezuma-Cortez Tournament.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
