Clayton Jefferson acts as both a calming force and a catalyst for the Ignacio High School boys basketball team.
He scored 27 points in leading the Bobcats to a 56-33 win over defending Class 3A state champion Pagosa Springs on Friday night in Ignacio’s home opener.
Jefferson opened the game with a three-point play and hit three more 3-pointers over the course of the game.
“He’s the guy we usually go to calm everybody’s nerves,” IHS head coach Chris Valdez said. “He’s just a great shooter.”
Jefferson didn’t miss during the first half, leading IHS (7-0) to a 28-16 lead.
The Bobcats struggled coming out of halftime, missing several layups and turning the ball over.
Point guard Wyatt Hayes asserted himself on both ends of the floor and as a distributor to keep IHS in the lead. He scored six points on the night to go along with seven steals and three rebounds.
“I just sensed we needed to press more,” said Hayes, son of Cindy and Tim Hayes. “Because our defense was slowing a little bit.”
IHS allowed 10 points or fewer in the first three quarters and only gave up 12 in the fourth quarter.
The Bobcats forced 27 turnovers, made 19 steals and blocked six shots.
Still, they’re not satisfied with their level of defensive execution.
“We didn’t rebound well, but we played decent defense,” Valdez said.
Pagosa Springs outrebounded Ignacio 33-20 and managed to stagnate the Bobcats’ offense when the latter couldn’t get out into transition.
That left Hayes or Jefferson to try and create off the dribble.
“We just gotta run our half-court offense better,” said Jefferson, son of Robert and Tina Jefferson.
Part of that struggle came when Adison Jones sat with three fouls at the start of the second half. He picked up his fourth foul shortly after re-entering the game late in the third quarter.
“When he’s in the game, we’re so much better,” Valdez said. “First of all, rebounding, since he’s the best rebounder on our team, in our league and maybe in half the state.”
Jones still managed nine points and a team-high seven rebounds in his limited minutes.
IHS won’t play again until Jan. 11, when it visits Durango High School for the first time since the 2006-07 season.
“We need to work on, our biggest thing is free throws,” Hayes said. “And our defense. We’re all getting beat off the dribble.”
kgrabowski@durangoheral.com
