The turnover bug didn’t plague the Ignacio High School boys basketball team long.
The Bobcats only gave the ball away five times in their 53-46 win over Shiprock on Friday in Kirtland, N.M. after turning it over 20 times against Bloomfield in their opener the night before.
“A big game like this, the guys step up,” IHS head coach Chris Valdez said. “They were a little more focused, I thought. They communicated better on the floor.”
IHS continued its balanced scoring.
Clayton Jefferson led the team with 13 points, while Adison Jones posted a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Wyatt Hayes joined them in double figures with 10 points and also chipped in eight assists.
The Bobcats led by as many as 17 in the second half, but an 11-0 Chieftain run cut it to six with less than four minutes left.
Bo Ward made two free throws to break the run, and IHS sealed its place in the championship game.
The Bobcats will play Kirtland Central at 5 p.m. Saturday.
The Broncos defeated Whitehorse and Mesilla Valley Christian to make the championship game. They’re led by forward Christian Mackey, who scored 23 points and had 16 rebound against Mesilla.
“We’re going to have to do some different things to stop him,” Valdez said.
Ignacio 62, Bloomfield 37
Coaches don’t normally talk about getting killed when they win by 25.
Valdez just had higher expectations of his team in its 62-37 season-opening win over Bloomfield on Thursday at the Kirtland Tournament in Kirtland, N.M.
“We did OK, came out real sluggish,” Valdez said. “The thing that killed us (Thursday night) was our turnovers.
The Bobcats gave the ball away 20 times.
“That’s unacceptable if we’re going to be playing and competing,” Valdez said.
IHS did transition well, which led to balanced scoring.
Hayes and Kelton Richmond led the Bobcats with 14 points each, while Jefferson and Jones each had 11.
The Bobcats played without 6-5 Justin Carver, who is out through the remainder of the tournament.
Valdez also wasn’t pleased with the way his team defended.
“Man-to-man defense was very poor, and help defense was very poor,” he said. “We didn’t play the way I expected us to play; no one was excited by the way we played.”
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
