Another night and another win for the Ignacio High School boys basketball team.
What made this Saturday’s home win different was that it came on senior night, as the Bobcats trounced the visiting Telluride Miners 65-33.
The Bobcats were aggressive from the get-go, jumping out to a 22-4 first quarter lead as Telluride looked overwhelmed by the defensive pressure it received.
Ignacio (16-2, 11-0 San Juan Basin League) caused turnover after turnover to begin the game, and Telluride (8-11, 7-4 SJBL) was out of it by the first half. Ignacio recorded 16 steals and caused 20 turnovers.
This game, however, wasn’t necessarily about stats, but more about the seniors who were on the floor. Anthony Manzanares finished the game with 11 points and five steals. Seven of Manzanares’ 11 points came within the first five minutes of the first quarter.
“This is giving us a lot of confidence heading into the postseason, and we’re really feeling good about ourselves now,” said Manzanares, son of Carlos and Georgia Leon. “We wanted to come out and make a statement so we knew we were ready for the playoffs. We can be really dangerous, especially when we’re all out on the floor. We can all score, and we don’t care who scores, we just want to win.”
Senior Wyatt Hayes finished with just four points but drove the momentum all night. He also finished with six steals and four assists. Fellow senior Tucker Ward added nine points. Joaquin King got the start for the Bobcats and made one 3-pointer.
Nicholas Herrera, the unsung senior of this Bobcats squad, finished with seven points and five rebounds and one crushing slam dunk. Midway through the second quarter, Ignacio’s pressing defense caused Telluride’s Andrew Denny to throw a bad pass that went right to Herrera. He intercepted the pass and had a wide-open court to play with and didn’t disappoint, as the big man threw down a thunderous slam dunk that woke up the slumbering crowd.
“It was great; it was my first ever dunk in a game, and it felt great doing it in my last night in the gym,” said Herrera, son of Chris and Kathy Herrera. “We plan on playing the in the playoffs like we did in the first half (Saturday night).”
Even though Telluride couldn’t match Ignacio’s intensity, the Miners outrebounded the Bobcats 20-13.
Ignacio was able to go 7-for-9 from the free throw line and took care of the ball by committing only two turnovers.
Denny led the Miners with 13 points, and Jordan Williams led Telluride with nine rebounds. Rye Livermore had eight rebounds for the Miners.
Ignacio will have the top seed heading into the district tournament, which will begin next week.
jmentzer@durangoherald.com
