Hunting a 31st victory in 32 total outings dating back to the start of last February, Centauri succeeded.
But otherwise, the Falcons weren’t satisfied Tuesday night as they left IHS Gymnasium 46-28 winners.
“Good things happen when you don’t turn the ball over; we finally got it clicking in that third quarter and put it away,” said head coach Larry Mortensen. “But hats off to Coach Seibel and Ignacio; they played hard and they gave us a game. That’s a tribute to them.”
Buoyed by two steals in swift succession by junior Ambrose Valdez, the hosting Bobcats (11-12 overall, 4-8 3A/4A Intermountain) went up 4-0 early, via baskets by Valdez and senior Lincoln Gillespie, before unbeaten Centauri (22-0, 11-0) crept ahead via a 3-pointer by senior Carson Bagwell and a putback deuce with 3:03 left by senior Todd Broyles.
Valdez, however, answered with another steal roughly a minute later and converted it into a 6-5 lead which held into the second quarter as IHS fans began sensing a possible upset in the making. The dangerous Bagwell then began the second quarter sinking a corner three. Back-to-back senior Jace Haslett buckets not only increased CHS’ lead to 12-6 but also showed a promising alternative to a well-guarded Bagwell/Troy Sowards perimeter attack.
Ignacio, thanks to six unanswered D.J. Hendren points, fought back to as close as 14-12. Bagwell countered with a baseline jumper, only to see IHS senior reserve Marquise Cibrian answer with a similar 2-point shot. Down 16-14, the ’Cats would soon go into halftime trailing 20-14 after Haslett closed out his 10-point quarter with two free throws – and no time left on the clock – after being fouled by Valdez.
Falcon junior Carson Shawcroft got the third quarter underway with a trey, sparking a Bagwell-boosted 14-1 run which inflated Centauri’s lead to 34-15. Still, the Bobcats were far from deflated, having held three of CHS’ five starters scoreless before intermission. The guests held a 36-19 advantage entering the final eight minutes.
“We just ran into the number-four (ranked) team in the state … and they played like it in the third, fourth quarters,” Ignacio head coach Trae Seibel said. “But we had them on the ropes in that first half. The boys followed the game plan and came to play! It just kind of got away from us in the third quarter.”
Falcon sophomore substitute Keadon McGinnis started the quarter with CHS’ fifth trey. Trailing by 20 points, IHS then outscored Centauri 9-7 the rest of the way.
Totaling 11 points during the tide-turning third quarter, Bagwell finished with a game-high 19. Haslett ended up with 12 points.
“Inside scoring, I think, is super important, and getting to the free-throw line is crucial,” Haslett (6-8 FT) said. “And (Ignacio) got up in fouls pretty early so we cashed in on that. And then as soon as you make them respect the inside game you can kick it out, make threes.”
For the ’Cats, Valdez matched Hendren’s eight points.
Centauri will next conclude regular-season work Friday at Alamosa (4-18, 2-9) – which hosted and defeated Pagosa Springs (7-15, 4-7) 47-44 on Tuesday. Ignacio will have wait until CHSAA’s Selection Sunday to learn if their ’24-25 campaign will continue into the postseason. But until then ….
“We’re going to practice hard,” said Seibel. “Going to get more shots up, as many as we can shoot, and just continue to pray and hope we’re in.”
