The best offense is a good defense.
That’s what’s often claimed in many sports, basketball near the top of that list, and that’s what’s seemingly become Kingston Martinez’s mantra the past couple of seasons while developing into one of, if not Bayfield’s best on-ball defender.
Fortunately, the scoring touch he’d flashed during his junior-varsity days hasn’t faded – and the Wolverines needed every bit he could muster during their 58-42 road win on Thursday night in Ignacio.
Having trailed by as many as 18 points during the second quarter, the hosting Bobcats managed to outscore BHS 12-5 during the last 6:12 before halftime and went back into the locker room down 28-17 but with momentum.
Recharged as much as possible during the pause, Martinez then responded with three consecutive baskets beginning the third quarter, rebuilding Bayfield’s lead to 34-17.
But no matter how many times the ’Cats kept getting knocked down on their own court, they kept getting back up; Rathjen, senior guard Sonny Flores and junior guard Thunder Windy Boy each took a hard tumble while being fouled on a layup, and each then netted an ‘and-one’ bonus FT to help whittle the Wolverines’ advantage down to 40-27.
No small feat considering Bayfield, behind five quick points by sophomore guard Harrison Williams, had rocketed out to a 17-5 lead during the game’s opening eight minutes, and thanks to sophomore reserve Davis Roderick’s 3-pointer early in the second, held a commanding 23-5 lead before Bobcat senior Stoney White Thunder-Lucero sank his only trey and sparked Ignacio’s initial comeback.
With barely more than a quarter remaining, the ’Cats had kept BHS junior guard Hayes Malone scoreless. He managed to finally net a two-point shot with just 8.7 ticks left in the third, but no more after picking up his third and fourth personal fouls during the final frame.
After Roderick booked back-to-back buckets rebuilding Bayfield’s lead up to 50-32 (the fourth quarter began with the Wolverines ahead 42-27), Ignacio went on a 10-0 tear, closing the gap to 50-42 with 3:39 still remaining in regulation. As IHS senior Trace Crane, held to eight points through three quarters, reawakened, so did Martinez.
The two put on quite the show with high-flying finishes at the rim, but Martinez outscored Crane 8-6 in the quarter, helping Bayfield secure the win.
“Trace is one of the better players in our league, so our main focus was him,” said BHS head coach Damon White Thunder. “Sending doubles around, trying to fight in front of him and … hold him to not as many (points) as he usually gets. It seemed like we did pretty well.”
Crane ended up totaling 14 points to pace the Bobcats (7-5 overall, 0-2 3A/4A Intermountain), but Martinez racked up an impressive 21 for the Wolverines (9-4, 2-1).
“Kingston stepped up tonight … attacked the basket like we want him to do,” White Thunder said. “We took a bad loss last Saturday, and we’re trying to fix our offense, get downhill more … and Kingston did an excellent job of that.”
Williams ended up with nine points and Roderick seven for the Wolverines.
Flores totaled nine points and Windy Boy eight in defeat for Ignacio. IHS ended up 11-of-19 from the charity stripe; BHS was 6-of-11.
The Wolverines continued IML work Friday night at Monte Vista (6-3, 0-1). Ignacio went to La Jara and visited Centauri (5-6, 1-1) on Friday. Results from both games were unavailable at press time.
