Ignacio High School had to work for it. But the short-handed Bobcats were up to the task.
The IHS boys basketball team completed a road sweep of Ouray and Ridgway on Friday night and Saturday afternoon with a 57-52 win Saturday against Ridgway one night after a tough 55-50 win at Ouray. The Bobcats (4-2, 3-0 San Juan Basin League) did it without the services of senior guard Brady McCaw, who was out with an illness.
“We got the two wins, and we are happy with that. We didn’t win by a lot of points, but we had 12-point leads in each game,” IHS head coach Chris Valdez said. “We couldn’t hold the leads that big, but with Brady out this week and not on the trip, two wins without an important part of our offense, quickness and defense was something we could be happy with.”
Bryce Finn had another monster game for the Bobcats with 22 points. Gabe Tucson continued his strong season with 16 points, while Dylan Labarthe had 12 points and Joe Garcia finished with seven.
Valdez praised the defense in back-to-back games from Jawadin Corona.
“He really helped us,” Valdez said. “We put him on the other team’s best player both nights. The Ouray kid (Jackson Leo) who averages 19 points per game, we had him lock him down, and that kept us from losing the game, honestly.”
Ridgway (2-3, 1-2 SJBL) made eight 3-pointers in the game, while IHS made seven. Cooper Ahern and Jamling Sherpa each scored 14 points, while Justin Beserra finished with 10 for the host Demons.
Now, Class 2A No. 11 IHS will hope to get back to full strength for a massive clash at No. 3 Mancos (6-0, 4-0 SJBL) at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Mancos. The last time IHS played at Mancos, it was in the regional championship game last year with a spot in the Class 2A state tournament’s Great 8 on the line. McCaw scored 24 points to lead IHS to a 58-50 win on that day.
“We hope to have (McCaw). If not, no excuses,” Valdez said. “We are going in there to do our very best. Our bench kids have been getting experience. We will go give them our best.
“Mancos is a lot faster this year. They have five really good guards who are all really fast, can all shoot and make layups. They have the big (Connor) Showalter kid inside who is a remarkable athlete. He’s one of the best we’ve seen in the area in awhile.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
