Del Norte junior forward Carlos Parra pumped in eight field goals and eight free throws in eight attempts last Saturday afternoon, torching a depleted Ignacio roster for 28 points as the Tigers forcefully clinched a spot in the Class 2A State Tournament's "Great Eight" this weekend. Del Norte won the game 55-34 in the Western Regional's Pod G finale.
Parra surprising the Bobcats for two triples and ten of DNHS' 15 first-quarter points, IHS (15-7 overall) was forced to play from behind and never came any closer than 32-25 during the third quarter after back-to-back breakaway baskets by sophomore guard Lawrence Valdez.
By halftime, 5-seed DNHS (20-4) built up a 29-19 pad against the regional's #2. Hoping to generate some team electricity, IHS junior guard Cole McCaw dropped in a running "teardrop" over a defender during the third quarter, but Parra immediately pulled the plug on that idea with his third three-pointer.
He'd knock down a fourth as Del Norte dismissed Valdez's aforementioned hoops to enter the home stretch up 39-25 inside Western State Colorado University's Paul Wright Gymnasium.
Parra then got Ignacio - minus junior scoring threat Kruz Pardo, sophomore reserve Calvin Levato and junior backup Daniel Weaver - for eight points in the final frame, in which he went 4-of-4 from the charity stripe and the Tigers as a whole went 9-of-10 to finish 18-of-25 while the 'Cats were just 3-of-5.
Draining two of the Bobcats' five threes, junior guard Johnny Valdez led IHS with 11 points. Lawrence Valdez and junior center/forward Kai Roubideaux each registered eight, McCaw booked five and freshman forward Ocean Hunter two. Well-watched around the three-point arc, lone senior Joaquin King was held scoreless and joined McCaw and Roubideaux in finishing with four personal fouls.
For Del Norte, sophomore guard Kade Glover logged nine points in support and senior reserve forward Hafen Campbell chipped in six. Senior Zach Leckler contributed five points to DNHS' cause, classmate Jeff Stevenson scored three, and senior Charlie Hayes and sophomore Andy Diaz each recorded two.
Del Norte is set to first meet Pod F champion Paonia inside Loveland's Budweiser Events Center Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Concluding the two-day regional in Gunnison, Paonia improved to 21-2 with a 63-33 rout of Telluride (13-9) last Saturday night.
