Three possessions, three 3-pointers.
That’s how Friday night’s game between the Ignacio High School boys basketball team and Grand County High of Moab, Utah, began in Cortez. Grand County’s Masen Ward opened the game with two straight 3s, and Joaquin King answered with one to open and another to close the first quarter for the Bobcats.
Ignacio went on to make 10 shots from behind the 3-point line in the game en route to a 60-53 victory to open the Montezuma-Cortez tournament.
“They came out and hit a couple shots early,” IHS head coach Chris Valdez said. “Our rotation was not very good on defense, but we battled back and got it to 13-13 after the first quarter. Then we got in a rhythm and settled down.”
IHS (3-0) built an 11-point lead in the second quarter but led only 28-23 at halftime. The Bobcats had their biggest lead of the night at 44-31 with 1:50 to play in the third quarter after Johnny Valdez knocked down back-to-back 3s. He finished with a game-high 17 points and had five assists and five steals.
IHS led 44-37 after three quarters, and Grand County got as close as 50-47, but free-throw shooting down the stretch helped the Bobcats close out the win.
“We shot 15 free throws in the second half to only two in the first half,” Coach Valdez said. “That shows we were actually going to the basket, being more aggressive, which we have to do if we want to win close ones.”
King finished with 16 points thanks to five made 3s. He also had six rebounds. Kruz Pardo added 12 points and six assists, while Kai Roubideaux had 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
IHS will face Basalt (5-1) in the tournament championship game at noon Saturday. The Longhorns defeated host Montezuma-Cortez 68-46 behind 27 points from Michael Glen.
The Bayfield High School boys and girls basketball games scheduled to be played at San Juan High School in Blanding, Utah, were postponed Friday because of inclement weather.
The games will be made up Monday. The Bayfield teams are scheduled to play at home Saturday against Monticello, Utah, depending on the weather conditions. The girls game is scheduled for 5 p.m., and the boys are scheduled to tipoff at 7 p.m.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
