The Montezuma-Cortez Rumble in the Jungle boys basketball tournament ended with a flurry Saturday.
The Ignacio High School boys basketball team (3-1) secured an 81-52 win against Basalt in the third-place game Saturday morning in Cortez. Then Grand County of Moab, Utah, defeated host Montezuma-Cortez 68-65 in the tournament’s championship game. Grand County beat Ignacio 56-48 on Friday night.
Ignacio’s win against Basalt (1-6) was powered by four players with 15 points or more for the Bobcats. Ocean Hunter scored a team-high 22 points. Lawrence Valdez added 18 points, and Kai Roubideaux and Johnny Valdez finished with 15 points each.
Justin Henderson scored a game-high 25 points for Basalt.
The teams played to a 16-16 tie through one quarter, but the Bobcats claimed a 35-26 lead at the halftime break. Ignacio extedned its lead to 50-37 going into the final quarter.
In the championship game, Grand County (6-1) was led by 18 points from senior forward Brayden Schultz. Alec Williams added 15 points.
Montezuma-Cortez (3-3) was led by the scoring of Teagan Whiteskunk, who had 17 points. Jasen Engel added 15 points, and Cordell Baer finished with 11 points. Austin Foxworth gave the Panthers another scorer in double figures, as he scored 10 points.
Cortez led 17-15 aftr the first quarter and 38-27 at halftime. The Red Devils stormed back to take a 51-44 lead into the fourth quarter and held off the Panthers in the final seconds.
Ignacio will have some time off before a trip to Bayfield to play the Pine River Rivalry game against the Wolverines on Jan. 9.
Bayfield got out to a hot start off the bus, but a tough shooting performance in the third quarter slowed down the Wolverines.
Bayfield (2-4) fell 56-52 Saturday at Colorado Springs Christian (4-1). Ryan Phelps led the team with 15 points, Hayden Farmer scored 13, and Dax Snooks finished with 11 points.
Bayfield led 15-10 after one quarter but trailed 29-25 at halftime. The third quarter ended up being the difference, BHS head coach Jeff Lehnus said.
“Man, we had early fastbreak opportunities and didn’t convert,” Lehnus said. “We went from being in a great position to go up to going down. Missed shot opportunities and missed free throws summarizes it as much as anything.”
Still, Lehnus was happy with the way he saw the team continue to grow early in the season against elite competition.
“We saw more progress, and I was pleased with our response,” Lehnus said. “It’s just not equaling Ws against the caliber teams we’re playing right now. I’m excited to continue to progress and look forward to the new year and continuing the journey forward.”
Bayfield will host the Southwest Classic Tournament on Jan. 5-6 and will face Ignacio and Durango.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
