Gabe Tucson, sure. But Coty Webb?
Surprising not only visiting Telluride but probably everyone inside IHS Gymnasium Wednesday night, Ignacio’s freshman reserve, rather than a senior standout, applied vital extra pressure with a last-second three-pointer before halftime.
His basket followed a Tucson trey and increased the Bobcats’ lead to a relatively safe 36-18 as the team sought to regroup after losing 55-36 the previous night at 2A/1A San Juan Basin League powerhouse Mancos.
“Yeah it was pretty easy to forget that game,” Webb said after a 57-42 win over the Miners. “I mean, they are a top-three team; they are really good. And our team, we’re getting there; all we’re focusing on is our team and improving.”
“What saved us early – we’d got Eppie (Quintana) in foul trouble, Devante (Montoya) in foul trouble, Gabe Cox in foul trouble – was Charlie (Pargin) off the bench, Coty off the bench, and Zane (Olguin) off the bench,” said head coach Chris Valdez. “And not one of them made a mistake while they were out there, which is what you want out of your bench!”
“They stepped it up,” said Tucson, who totaled three triples and a game-high 27 points. “They helped and did whatever they could … to stick together.”
Leading 12-10 through one quarter, Ignacio (8-4, 3-2 SJBL, 1-2 2A SJBL) broke loose during the second. Beginning on a 6-0 burst, IHS pressed THS head coach Brandon Bredlau into taking a timeout with 6:11 left and Telluride trailing 18-10.
And with junior Tony Ordonez going 4-for-4 at the free-throw line, sophomore Jay Ellison sinking a three-pointer and senior South Livermore adding a free throw, the Miners (2-9, 1-4, 1-2) managed to match the ’Cats offensively, 8 points to 8, during the next 4:26 before sophomore Phillip Quintana converted an Eppie Quintana breakaway assist with 1:45 remaining.
Up 28-18, junior center Dylan McCaw then scored from close range off an inbounds lob pass, with Tucson’s and Webb’s long-distance makes following soon after.
“I’ve been used to playing JV and when I got out there I got, you know, nervous,” Webb admitted. “But then after the first shots made by one of our teammates … It all goes away, and I’m just focused on winning the game.”
“We’re trying some different things, you know?” said Valdez. “We started a bigger team tonight – Dylan hit a couple nice shots, had a good (second-quarter) run there with three baskets, and Cox (stood out) with his rebounding.”
“I tried to go in, and next thing you know I’ve got Gabe pushing me out … like, ‘I’ve got this!’” Webb said with a laugh. “I was like, ‘Alright, I’ll get down court!’”
Livermore would log eight of his team-leading 14 points during the fourth quarter, helping THS win the fourth, 10-8, and the second half, 24-21. But after Ordonez (10 points, 6-6 FT) fouled out with 4:56 left, IHS certainly breathed easier.
“They got past our defense quite a bit out there,” Webb said. “But they’ve got good ballhandlers; they know how to move the ball quickly.”
“Didn’t talk a lot defensively. And I got after a couple of our kids; they just didn’t step out … and we’ve got to recognize where they’re at,” Valdez said. “Got in at 1 (a.m.) last night I went and plowed snow at 3:30, got two hours’ sleep – so everybody was a little tired, everybody was on edge. We need to regroup a little bit but we’ll be fine.”
McCaw finished with eight points, and each Quintana booked six. Webb and Cox each totaled five.
Sophomore Townes Merritt contributed seven points for the soph-heavy Miners, and Ellison finished with six.
Ignacio will next travel to Dolores on Friday.
Breakaway layup begot breakaway layup, and it took barely half a quarter for everyone in attendance to realize what could happen between the Lady Bobcats and Lady Miners was indeed developing.
Freshman guard Marissa Olguin sank two three-pointers during the opening eight minutes Wednesday, putting IHS up 15-0 at the time, and totaled 14 first-quarter points as the home team piled up a 25-0 lead en route to an 89-2 victory. The win came on the heels of the previous evening’s second-half collapse at Mancos.
Locked in on the hoop and little else, Olguin converted multiple steals and Telluride turnovers into point-blank baskets whenever she was on the court. Olguin ultimately finished with a game-high 40 points off the bench, with senior Elisia Cruz (six points) given a start alongside regulars Laci Brunson (six), Darlyn Mendoza-Lechuga (10), Harmony Reynolds (16) and Avaleena Nanaeto (four). Olguin scored 14 points in the first, 12 in the second, two in the third and 12 more in the fourth quarter.
All told, first-year head coach Tony Gomez was able to play all 12 of his varsity players, plus JV call-up Victoria Brown as Ignacio improved to 5-6 overall, 2-2 in league and 2-1 against its 2A side.
Telluride showed about as much heart as a learning team – or any team, for that matter – could under the circumstances, which also included missing multiple regulars. THS (0-10, 0-2, 0-1) strove from start to finish regardless of the score, and had their effort rewarded during the third quarter.
Dribbling into the offensive end, senior guard Merci Craft passed to a teammate on her right, positioned a couple feet into the lane. The Lady ’Cats swarmed, knocking free the ball but inadvertently kicking it back Craft’s way. Alertly making the scoop, Craft was able to split Brunson and Mendoza-Lechuga near the foul line, penetrate the paint and hit a running jumper snapping IHS’ shutout bid with 5:21 left and the margin 56-2.
IHS will continue SJBL play Friday at Dolores.
