It’s Ignacio High School’s turn to host the Southwest Classic boys basketball tournament. Head coach Chris Valdez hopes his team can find a win against one of the two powerful teams the Bobcats will see.
Area rivals Bayfield, Durango, Ignacio and Montezuma-Cortez will meet in the four-game event Friday and Saturday. Play will open at 5 p.m. Friday when Class 4A Durango (7-4) tips off against defending Class 3A state champion Bayfield (3-4). Host Ignacio (2-4) then will face undefeated Class 3A Montezuma-Cortez (6-0) in a game scheduled for 7 p.m.
Saturday is rivalry day, as Durango will play Montezuma-Cortez at 3 p.m. followed by Pine River rivals Bayfield and Ignacio at 5 p.m.
“It’s gonna be nice to have these teams here,” said Valdez, the longtime Bobcats’ head coach. “I really wish we had a little more firing power right now, but our guys are coming along. We’re getting there, but it’s gonna take some more time.”
Ignacio’s rich basketball tradition will be on display for a packed gymnasium. Playing in front of large crowds is something all the participants are used to, but Valdez knows his young team will need to be ready to handle the noise.
“It’s something we will talk about a little more with this group,” he said. “Every team is different. Up at Limon, away from home, we didn’t seem to have any pressure and played really well only down three points in the fourth quarter to a team I think is top five at least. Then we come back here against Dolores and can’t make a layup. The kids can get scared with a big crowd. It’s different for them at home, so it’s something we will discuss and make sure we don’t think about that.”
IHS ended a four-game losing streak with a league win against Dove Creek before the holiday break. Valdez said it is crucial for the team to find one win this weekend to avoid going into the rest of the league play 2-6 and on the outside looking in at a playoff spot in the all-important RPI standings.
The Bobcats will be led by sophomore Bryce Finn, who has scored 15.7 points per game. Sophomore guard Triston Thompson also has scored 10.5 per contest.
Durango will ride into the tournament looking to avenge a winless showing in last year’s classic hosted by Bayfield. The Demons have already won more games than all of last season and are on a five-game winning streak.
“It’s a big tournament,” DHS head coach Alan Batiste said. “We will play some teams that always want to beat us. The boys want to get involved trying to beat them, as well. Coming off break, it’s a good tournament for us to play good teams. Bayfield won the state championship last year, Cortez is off to a hot start, so we will see high-caliber play.”
Al Hurworth and Cullen Robinette have led Durango with a matching 11.6 points per game, while Hurworth leads the way with 5.6 rebounds per game.
Bayfield has played without senior point guard Keyon Prior all season. If he plays this weekend, it will be only in limited minutes, BHS head coach Klint Chandler said.
The team has shown glimpses of being another postseason contender this year despite his absence. But a three-game losing streak going into break has left a bad taste in the mouth of the Wolverines.
“This tournament will be good for us,” Chandler said. “We didn’t finish before break how we wanted to. These are two big games to get us ready for league.”
Senior Turner Kennedy has transformed into the team’s point guard and has averaged 20.7 points per game to go with 5.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.3 blocks and 1.3 blocks per game. His all-around play has been key. Senior forward Hayden Farmer also has averaged 10.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.
“(Kennedy) has been playing well for us,” Chandler said. “He has to run the point and try to score for us, and that’s hard. He’s been working hard for us there.”
For Chandler, Friday night’s game against Durango comes against a program he knows well after spending several years on the sidelines of the Demons.
“(Batiste) and me are good friends. I know for the kids it’s a rivalry and a little different, but I root for everyone in the Four Corners,” Chandler said.
Montezuma-Cortez is led by some talented upperclassmen. This will be the toughest weekend on the Panthers’ schedule so far and will test the 6-0 record.
Junior Teagan Whiteskunk has averaged 22.2 points per game to go with 5.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 4.3 steals per game. He’s one of four Panthers who have averaged double-digit scoring along with seniors Cordell Baer and Michael Diaz and junior Titus Jackson. Baer has also averaged 12.2 rebounds per game.
“We have to play up-tempo,” Panthers’ head coach Michael Hall told The Journal after a win Dec. 21 against Mancos. “We have kids like Cordell Baer and James Jorgensen who can come in and rebound the ball. It’s fun to have guards who can push it, and three big kids who can do something with it when it comes down the floor.”
Junior varsity teams also compete during the two-day event. The schools had tried to get a girls tournament scheduled the same weekend and will look into it again next offseason.
“Three years ago we started this, and it would be fun to get the girls one going to come along with us,” Batiste said. “It’s just a great Four Corners tournament we can have with excellent competition, teams that play hard and teams that want to beat each other.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
If you go
Who:
Bayfield, Durango, Ignacio, Montezuma-Cortez
What:
Southwest Classic boys basketball tournament
When:
Bayfield vs. Durango, 5 p.m. Friday; Ignacio vs. Montezuma-Cortez, 7 p.m. Friday; Durango vs. Montezuma-Cortez, 3 p.m. Saturday; Bayfield vs. Ignacio, 5 p.m. Saturday
Where:
Ignacio High School gymnasium
Twitter:
@BrendanPloen
