The Ignacio boys high school basketball team bounced back in a big way Thursday night with a 48-35 victory against Dolores in a key 2A/1A San Juan Basin League game at Dolores High School.
The Bobcats were led by Bryce Finn, who finished with 18 points, while Triston Thompson had 11 and Ocean Hunter finished with six.
IHS got out to a 10-5 lead after the first quarter and extended the lead to 19-13 at the half. The third quarter proved to be key, as IHS (3-6, 2-1 SJBL) was able to pull away thanks to a 10-2 run that gave the Bobcats a 36-23 lead.
In the final quarter, Finn scored six points and IHS made the stops it needed in order to come away with a road victory.
The Bears (3-3, 1-1 SJBL) were led by Tristen Swagerty, who finished with 22 points. Swagerty had scored 36 points in a 68-65 win Dec. 4 at Ignacio.
The Bobcats will host play league game against Norwood at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at IHS.
Girls Basketball
Girls BasketballThe Ignacio High School girls basketball team improved to 3-0 in Class 2A/1A San Juan Basin League play Thursday night with a convincing 67-20 win against Dolores.
“It’s nice to get back to the win column,” said IHS head coach Justa Whitt. “Our goal today was to execute the things that we needed to work on, continue improving our different rotations, and I think we did that tonight. Going forward, I think we will just fine.”
The Bobcats (4-4, 3-0 SJBL) were led by Jayden Brunson, who had a game-high 23 points. IHS also had a big contribution from Makayla Howell, who had 11 points, while Monica Lucero had seven points.
“We’ve been telling all of the girls that they need to step up into the scoring roles, and we are starting to see that,” Whitt said. “Makayla was solid, and so was Jayden, so it was nice to see that and going forward, we want to keep that up.”
Dolores (1-5, 0-2 SJBL) was led by Tatum Majors, who finished with eight points.
The Bobcats will take on Norwood at 2 p.m. Saturday at IHS.
Wrestling
WrestlingThe Bayfield High School wrestling team had a tough matchup against Pagosa Springs in a 3A Intermountain League clash Thursday night, as the Wolverines fell 49-21.
The Pirates, ranked No. 2 in Class 3A in the latest On the Mat rankings, controlled the middleweights and were able to bring home key wins at 152, 160, 170 and 182, which included Ian Reinhardt’s 19-5 major decision win over Shane Moore at 170.
Bayfield had four wins on the night, including Daniel Westbrook (285), who pinned Justin Baxtrom in 1:03, while Dylan Pickering defeated EJ Monterosso (126) in a narrow 7-6 decision. John Foutz won via a forfeit at 195, while Avery Metzlaff also won via forfeit at 106 and picked up his first victory for the Wolverines in the process.
Erik Wyman of Pagosa Springs defeated James Mars in another close bout, as the decision ended 8-6. James Thomas, the second-ranked wrestler at 132 in Class 3A, pinned Colby Baker in 1:27.
The Wolverines will have a quick turn around before Saturday’s big Pagosa Springs tournament.
Buena Vista took down the Durango High School wrestling team Thursday night in Buena Vista, as it had five pins while it also had seven forfeit victories en route to a 60-12 victory.
DHS recorded two wins on the night, as Tyler Woodworth, a freshman at 145-pound weight class, pinned Seth Moss in 2 minutes, 39 seconds. The other win came from Austin Albrecht at 195, as he was able to pin Isaiah Romero in 2:33.
Micah Hertrich pinned Alex Finneseth (160) in 1:20, while Jackson Helmke was finally able to beat Owen Eicher (106) in 5:25. DHS forfeited points at 113, 120, 126, 170, 182, 220 and 285-pound weight classes.
The Demons will stay on the road this weekend at the Arvada West Invitational, which will be held Friday and Saturday
bploen@durangoherald.com
