Junior sharpshooters Hayes Malone and Drew Jepson combined to cash seven 3-pointers and total as many points as 3A Bayfield allowed visiting 3A Ignacio in a resounding 65-37 win Thursday night before a capacity crowd cramming BHS Gymnasium.
Coincidentally, Malone and Jepson’s aggregate 37 was also as many as the Wolverines had scored in their previous outing – a 25-point loss this past Saturday in La Jara to struggling 3A Centauri – as they entered the second battle with IHS actually having lost three of their most recent four.
But not even 90 seconds into the showdown, it was clear Bayfield had already shifted into a higher gear; sophomore guard Harrison Williams got the scoring started with a 2-point take, and then Jepson and Malone each connected from deep – putting BHS up 8-0 and pressing Bobcat boss Trae Seibel into using a needed timeout with 6:34 still left in what ended up an incendiary opening eight minutes.
Senior forward Rance Rathjen managed to get the guests on the scoreboard with a 2-pointer, but the Wolverines (12-7 overall, 5-4 3A/4A Intermountain) closed out the quarter on a 10-0 run punctuated by a late triple by reserve junior guard Henry Ferrell, assisted by sophomore reserve Davis Roderick.
Having great difficulty breaking BHS’ full-court pressure, and more in getting even the best of offensive looks to fall, Ignacio (8-10, 1-7 IML) got two free throws and a basket early in the second quarter from senior forward/center Trace Crane, but did not crack double figures until junior guard William Mendoza-Lechuga drove baseline for two points with just 1:29 left.
By that time, Bayfield had carved through the ’Cats like a hot knife through room-temperature butter and increased the margin to 37-10. When halftime finally arrived, the Wolverines’ 46-12 advantage – built up, in part, by junior Cameron Queen’s eight points, seven from Jepson and six from Malone – was too great to overcome.
Jepson’s fourth trey in the game swelled BHS’ lead to 58-23, and though IHS junior guard Thunder Windy Boy managed to convert a three-point play and also make three of three FTs after being fouled on an attempted three-ball with 2:20 left in the third quarter, Bayfield all but capped the conquest with a fierce transition dunk by junior forward Tanner Vyborny, plus another last-second Ferrell special – made after he claimed an offensive rebound, then dribbled unchecked into the corner nearest BHS’ bench.
Down 63-29 through 24 regulation minutes, the Bobcats won the final frame 8-2. Crane ended up 4-of-5 from the foul line and with 14 points; Windy Boy was 6-of-6 from the charity stripe and tallied 10.
Malone racked up a game-high 19 points and grabbed no fewer than seven boards. Jepson tallied 18 points.
Bayfield will take a break from league work and head to non-league 3A Telluride on Saturday for a 1:30 p.m. start. Results from the Wolverines’ Friday home game versus 3A Monte Vista (10-8, 3-5 IML) were unavailable at press time. Ignacio was to next host CHS (8-10, 3-5) on Friday then await a visit on the Tuesday from menacing 4A Montezuma-Cortez.
