IGNACIO – The Ignacio boys basketball team kept up with the defending Colorado High School Activities Association’s Class 3A state champion Bayfield Wolverines in the final game of the Southwest Classic on Saturday at IHS, but the Wolverines made clutch shots down the stretch.
BHS (5-4) used a fourth-quarter run to pull away from a determined Ignacio (2-6) in a 56-40 win.
“At least in that second half, we started moving the basketball more,” Chandler said. “We spaced the floor much better and were much more open and got a lot more players involved.”
The teams traded baskets all game. Bayfield led 13-7 after it established an early post presence, but the Bobcats forced five Bayfield turnovers. The Wolverines led by as much as nine points in the second quarter, but IHS stormed back behind sixth-man Randy Doyebi’s 3-point sharpshooting that made it a three-point game.
The Bobcats took their only lead at 21-20 after Doyebi drained another 3. BHS answered before the halftime buzzer sounded with a basket from Matt McSweeney, and the Wolverines took at 22-21 lead into the locker room.
“We played a couple of games earlier this season where we will play a quarter or a quarter and a half of good basketball,” IHS head coach Chris Valdez said. “Yesterday, we played a good half, and today we played well for three quarters. Tonight, we were down by six at one point, and they hit a couple of shots. But we were right there. I told them that at halftime, and they kept fighting. I probably played some players a bit too long at the time, and we missed some shots that were makable down the stretch, and that’s my fault. But we played three quarters of the game, and hopefully we can continue to do that as we get into league play.”
The third quarter remained close and included a technical foul on Bayfield’s Briant Cuellar for an improper substitution, and IHS took advantage and made it a four-point game at 34-30. But the Wolverines went on a 5-0 run to cap off the quarter, which included a 3-pointer from senior guard Hayden Farmer with seconds remaining that gave the Wolverines a comfortable nine-point advantage heading into the final period at 39-30.
Bayfield senior Keyon Prior had seven points in the third quarter and finished with nine.
Bayfield outscored Ignacio 17-10 in the fourth quarter propelled by a 10-2 run in the closing stages of the game. Turner Kennedy, who had seven points in the second half and finished with nine, thought the offense stepped up when they needed to finally pull away.
“We talked about it during a timeout where we recognized that (Ignacio) was tired, and we wanted to push the pace on them,” Kennedy said. “We passed a lot better, and we were able to get layup after layup because we were moving the ball much better. It worked out well for us tonight.
“Ignacio is a good team, and they forced us into some really tight spots, so credit to them. But, in the end, we just needed to get back to our game, and we did that.”
Leading the way for the Wolverines was Farmer, who had 18 points, including 10 in the second half. James Mottin chipped in nine points, and McSweeney finished with six.
“Seeing other guys like Matt and James step up was big for us,” Chandler said. “In the league, other teams will probably key in on our big three, so for them to have a good night was nice.”
Ocean Hunter scored 10 of his team-high 14 points for IHS in the second half. Other contributors for IHS included Doyebi, who had nine points, while Bryce Finn had eight and Triston Thompson finished with six.
“Randy is a kid who will start for us depending on size and matchups, but it’s something that has been building,” Valdez said. “It’s his first year playing varsity ball, and we’re trying to sneak him in because, come league, he’ll be competitive. He’s got a long frame, he’s a finisher and can rebound, and we’re looking to see what he and our other role players will do in the next few games.”
Bayfield will begin its attempt to repeat as 3A Intermountain conference champions against Alamosa at 7 p.m. Friday at BHS, followed by a Saturday afternoon home bout against undefeated Montezuma-Cortez at 3 p.m. Saturday.
bploen@durangoherald.com
