The Ignacio High School boys and girls basketball teams took on Del Norte Tuesday, and both squads returned homes with wins.
The Ignacio girls won their first game, 38-34, and the boys then beat Del Norte 41-25.
Appearing reluctant to drop in another layup just before the final buzzer to cap an important road win, Ignacio sophomore Gabe Cox probably deserved the gimme for his work all over the court.
Defense was the name of the game against nonleague Del Norte. Cox blocked multiple shots early – including one called a foul that took Tiger senior Brennan Velasquez down to the floor – and his vital rebounding helped set a tone that echoed through four quarters, drowning out Del Norte Senior Night shouts as the Bobcats prevailed 41-25.
“Everybody was zoned in at the end; they knew what the game plan was,” said IHS head coach Chris Valdez. “We knew they’d take a lot of shots from the outside; our plan was not to let them get second-chance shots. We knew we could outrebound them; they’re not that big – of course, we aren’t either – but … we really cleaned the boards up.”
“I really thought the kids did a good job inside; (Del Norte) couldn’t do anything in there.”
And when Cox was given a breather, junior Dylan McCaw continued the Ignacio posts’ blue-collar work and recorded his own highlight-reel rejection, roofing an attempt by must-stop objective Ben Parra. Parra went into halftime having logged just two free throws as the guests slowly expanded their 13-5 first-quarter lead to 18-9 at intermission.
A Velasquez three-pointer brought DNHS back to as close as 20-18 with 4:27 left in the third quarter, but after Valdez took a timeout, IHS (12-5 overall, 6-2 2A/1A San Juan Basin, 4-2 2A SJBL) countered with a swift Gabe Tucson drive to the basket and a Phillip Quintana trey with 2:13 left.
Tasked with hounding Parra, Bobcats junior Eppie Quintana picked up his fourth foul with 0:57 left, but the ’Cats managed to lead the 2A Southern Peaks Leaguers 25-21 beginning the final frame.
Phillip Quintana then promptly cashed another three, his third in the game, and not long after Velasquez fouled out with 5:57 to go, IHS’ Devante Montoya swished another triple – increasing IHS’ advantage to 31-21. Whistled for an improbable third charging violation, Eppie Quintana fouled out with 2:48 remaining, but the Tigers (11-6 overall) couldn’t take advantage down the stretch as Ignacio reverted to a defensive approach.
“Parra … we ran Eppie on him all over the place, and he did a great job. When he got in foul trouble, we went to a 2-3 zone and just called (Parra) out all over the floor,” Valdez said. “People stepped out on him, and he scored less points during that time than he did the rest of the game!”
“We really … got hands in their faces, the guys we didn’t want to score.”
Assisting on a Charlie Pargin breakaway layup as time wound down, Cox finished with six points. Tucson tallied a game-high 13 (nine during the first half), Phillip Quintana booked 11 in support, and Montoya ended up with five. Pargin finished with four points, and Eppie Quintana, two.
Parra managed to register a Tiger-high 11 points, and Velasquez totaled six, but fellow starters T.J. Sanchez, Tyler Gallegos and Dante LeBlanc were held to eight points combined as Ignacio gained some momentum for two 2A-level SJBL tests wrapping up regular-season play: Friday at Telluride, and the next afternoon at home against Dolores.
“I think this game gave us a little more confidence, but we were against a team we outmatched height-wise, not speed-wise,” Valdez said. “You know … their records don’t really show how good they are; I think they match up really well with us.”
“I think the kids are ready to go, and I’m hoping we can get over some sicknesses and get wins this weekend.”
THS (5-12; 3-3 2A SJBL) narrowly won at DHS (6-8; 2-4 2A SJBL) Tuesday night, 49-46, giving the Miners a two-game season sweep of the Bears by all of five points.
In the girls game, Del Norte shut out Ignacio in the first quarter and led 9-0 before Avaleena Nanaeto got Ignacio on the scoreboard 1 minute into the second.
IHS then rallied to tie the score, 18-18, heading into halftime with Nanaeto banking in a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
DNHS led 28-25 after three quarters, but Nanaeto banked in another trey early in the fourth to tie. Ignacio would build a 35-32 lead late via a Darlyn Mendoza-Lechuga drive to the hole and a free throw.
DNHS got a late basket by Abigail Rivera to close within a point. Ignacio, however, secured the win with Nanaeto – whistled for four fouls before the final frame – sinking one of two free throws with 11 seconds remaining, then stealing the ball from a Lady Tiger and taking it uncontested to the hoop for a layup just before the buzzer.
Ignacio’s girls improved to 7-8, 2-1 2A/1A San Juan basin League with the win. The team was back in action Wednesday at Montezuma-Cortez.
