The Ignacio High School boys basketball team got a bit of redemption Friday night, as the Bobcats bounced Ridgway from the San Juan Basin League Class 2A District 3 tournament.
Ridgway handed Ignacio its only loss in league play with a 42-41 decision Feb. 10 in Ridgway, and the Bobcats returned the favor with a 52-27 victory in the tournament’s semifinals in Cortez.
The top-seeded Bobcats (15-4) jumped out to an early lead on the No. 4 Demons (9-12) and cruised to the victory in the second half.
“I think that was the key. We were up 18-9 after the first and 29-16 at halftime,” Bobcats head coach Chris Valdez said. “We got out ahead of them, and the last two times we played from behind (against Ridgway). The guys played really well. We spread the ball around a lot, and we played a lot of man-to-man (defense). We usually play a lot more zone, but we played man-to-man because we noticed they were pretty weak with their ball handling and we were able to keep them away from wide-open shots that they got against our zone.”
The Bobcats spread the wealth around in the win.
Johnny Valdez led the Bobcats with 16 points to go with six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Lawrence Valdez finished with 12 points, three steals and three assists. Cole McCaw had 10 points, four steals and three assists.
Kruz Pardo led the team with seven assists. Ocean Hunter, in limited minutes, grabbed seven rebounds and had three steals and three assists. Kai Roubideaux grabbed eight rebounds in limited minutes, and coach Valdez said the senior looked pain free as he works his way back from a knee injury.
Ignacio will play the winner of No. 2 Dolores and No. 3 Telluride in the tournament championship at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Montezuma-Cortez High School in Cortez.
Girls Basketball
Girls BasketballTeams have had trouble scoring against the Ignacio High School girls basketball team this season, and the Bobcats’ San Juan Basin League Class 2A District 3 tournament semifinal game against Telluride was no different.
The No. 1 Bobcats (18-2) stifled the No. 4 Miners (6-15) and earned a 38-18 victory Friday in Cortez to move into the tournament’s championship game.
Ignacio will meet No. 2 Dolores in the championship at noon Saturday at Montezuma-Cortez High School. Dolores (10-10) beat No. 3 Norwood (8-13) 45-32 in the other semifinal game.
Ignacio head coach Trae Seibel was not available for comment.
kschneider@durangoherald.com
