RIO GRANDE COUNTY – Reinforcements for the one-man army known as Gabe Cox showed up much later Saturday afternoon than Ignacio coach Chris Valdez would have preferred, as Monte Vista hung on to defeat the Bobcats 52-44 in the crews’ first game after the holiday break.
Cox racked up a game-high 25 points in defeat, while collecting (unofficially) 15 rebounds. He scored all 10 of Ignacio’s first quarter points and 16 of the Bobcats’ 20 first-half points.
Monte Vista improved to 5-3, while Ignacio fell to 4-4.
The Pirates’ lead rapidly swelled to 13-4 to start the game after a trey by Alex Marquez and sophomore guard/forward Azariah Hurtado’s subsequent two-and-one effort.
Ignacio senior guard Phillip Quintana, who’d foul out with 2:52 left in regulation, concluded the first half with a steal and end-to-end take for a buzzer-beating layup, and the Bobcats made it a one- or two-possession game as the night went on. Ignacio cut Monte Vista’s lead to 49-44 with less than a minute left in regulation after senior guard Trajan Garcia sank his second triple of the fourth and final frame.
Having struck from straight away, Garcia’s next try from that location was unsuccessful, and Monte Vista junior Ismael Medina grabbed the rebound then passed ahead to Hurtado. Fouled with 13.8 ticks left on the clock, Hurtado hit one of two free throws, solidifying MVHS’ two-score advantage.
Ignacio then managed to inbound and whip the ball forward to Garcia in the near corner. Spinning away from a defender and directly into a shooting stance, Garcia’s 3-pointer went in, but waved off due to a traveling violation as he attempted to maintain balance while pivoting.
Monte Vista then inbounded to Marquez, who was immediately fouled with 6.8 seconds left. Marquez then sealed the Pirates’ victory with two more makes from the charity stripe, increasing his point total to a team-high 18.
Doing his best work when driving to the basket and drawing contact, Hurtado went 10 of 15 from the foul line and scored 16 points. Madrid finished with six points, all in the first half. Sophomore reserve Alex Gonzales logged five points, including a key 3-pointer during the second quarter to keep the Bobcats at bay.
Despite getting support in the paint from junior forward DaLaney Wesner, senior center/forward Solymar Cosio managed to net only two of her game-high nine points after halftime, as Ignacio lost 37-31 at Monte Vista on Saturday to open 2024.
Ignacio fell to 4-4, while Monte Vista improved to 6-1.
The two squads entered halftime tied 15-15. However, consistency ultimately paid off for Monte Vista, which outscored Ignacio 22-16 in the second half.
Juniors Allessah Archuleta and Sasha Dupont each scored seven points for the Lady Pirates, and each sank one of the Lady Pirates’ two 3-pointers.
Wesner managed eight points in defeat for Ignacio, while senior Maci Barnes scored six.
