Leading just 9-8 after one quarter on Tuesday evening, the Ignacio Bobcats outscored visiting Crested Butte 15-9 during the second stanza as they steadily separated to keep their season alive with a 52-43 victory.
Hosting the Titans – brought in from the 3A/2A Southern Peaks for postseason play as part of CHSAA’s altered basketball alignments this winter – the ’Cats got an impressive 17 points from junior center/forward Gabe Cox, plus two 3-pointers and 11 total points from freshman guard Ambrose Valdez.
Canning two of IHS’ five total treys, junior guard/forward Trajan Garcia contributed six points, while sophomore forward Charlie Pargin complemented Cox’s count with seven. Helping keep Crested Butte at bay during the final frame, junior guard Phillip Quintana hit one three and booked all seven of his points. Senior guard Eppie Quintana contributed four points as Ignacio survived the 3A Intermountain League District Tournament’s play-in game.
Senior Kason Cox nailed three 3s (two during the fourth quarter) and finished with 11 points for Crested Butte. Senior Ben Barney made one three and totaled nine points, while senior Jamis Matlock hit two threes and junior Riley Davis sunk one trey as both registered eight points.
Ignacio improved to 6-14 overall with the win while Crested Butte slipped to 9-11.
Up next, the Bobcats will challenge No. 3 Centauri (16-3 overall) at 7:30 p.m. Friday in La Jara. In the other semifinal Friday, Bayfield (8-11) will take on Montezuma-Cortez (7-12).
Saturday’s session will feature the boys’ third-place game at 12:30 p.m., with the championship following at 3:30 p.m.
