A 6-foot-7 center was no match for the pure skill of Ignacio’s Adison Jones.

Jones, a 6-foot-4 forward, led the Ignacio Bobcats with 18 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals while matched up against Matt Freestone in a 45-33 win against Monticello High School in Utah on Tuesday night.

“Adison was open inside a lot, and we fed him down low,” IHS head coach Chris Valdez said of his senior. “He went to work. They had a 6-7 kid, and Adi ate him up. He couldn’t hold Adi at all, not even close.”

IHS (15-2) led 11-10 after one quarter before tightening up its defense. The Bobcats held the Buckaroos (13-4) to two points in the second quarter and four in the third to build a 35-16 lead going to the fourth.

“We got lackadaisical in the fourth. We knew the game was in hand, and we won by 12 when we should’ve won by 20,” Valdez said. “Those are little things we can’t do if we want to be successful later in the season. We need to bury a team when we can.”

Tucker Ward added 13 points, six rebounds and four steals for the Bobcats. Wyatt Hayes added eight points, nine rebounds, five steals and four assists.

“That’s the best game Tucker has had,” Valdez said of the junior guard. “He was attacking the basket strong and went 6-for-8 from the field. That’s a nice game.”

Monticello, the defending Class 1A state champion in Utah, had fast guards, and Valdez was happy with his team’s defense on senior Sheldon Black, who had 13 points but only three going to the third quarter. He credited Hayes’ defense for bottling up Black.

“I thought we got what we needed to get out of this. It was a good time to play a good team,” Valdez said. “They’re a top-10 team and well coached and a defending state champ, so it was a good test.”

IHS will return home to resume San Juan League games at 7 p.m. Friday against Norwood. They’ll finish the regular season Saturday at Telluride.

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