Ignacio had Holyoke right where it wanted, until it didn’t.
Leading by as many as 12 points in the fourth quarter, the No. 5 Ignacio High School boys basketball team stumbled down the stretch and watch the No. 4 Holyoke Dragons pour in three consecutive 3-pointers to storm back and tie the game at 54 to send it into overtime.
The teams exchanged blows in the extra 5 minutes of action inside Massari Arena on the campus of Colorado State University-Pueblo, but one late free throw by Holyoke’s Jesus Loya gave the Dragons a 61-60 lead with less than 15 seconds to play.
Ignacio senior Wyatt Hayes took the a handoff pass and drove into the paint and drew contact with a Holyoke defender but was called for charging under the basket, turning the ball over to Holyoke.
The Bobcats looked to have forced a late turnover, but the referees awarded the ball back to Holyoke, and the Dragons ran out the clock to secure the 61-60 overtime win and advance to the Colorado High School Activities Association Class 2A state semifinals against No. 1 Sanford.
“Everybody is disappointed,” Ignacio head coach Chris Valdez said. “But we’re a team. We won all these games this season as a team, and we lose as a team. We don’t blame anybody. I’ll take the blame as a coach, because our kids played their hearts out for us. I appreciate that hard work.”
Valdez didn’t agree with the late charging call against Hayes.
“Wyatt came around and grabbed a handoff from Kruz Pardo and there was a collision in the middle,” Valdez said. “It’s either a no-call or a block if anything. They ran into each other. I didn’t see a foul on us for sure. They weren’t set, but that’s all I can see.”
Hayes had a tough night for the Bobcats. He finished with six points, four rebounds, two steals and one assists. Ignacio was led by senior Anthony Manzanares, who scored 14 points to go with three rebounds and two steals.
There also was some confusion in the game’s final seconds. Holyoke missed two free throws, and Tucker Ward came up with the rebound. Ignacio had one timeout to use, and Valdez had instructed his team to use it. Pardo and Valdez both anxiously were asking for a timeout, and a referee blew a whistle. The game clock operator briefly stopped the clock, but then play continued and time expired, sending Holyoke into celebration and the Bobcats into confusion. Meanwhile, Manzanares was working up the floor with the ball. “The referee blew his whistle with Anthony down the floor, backed over Anthony,” Valdez said. “The timer stopped the clock, started it again and took off. It was confusing. We thought we got the timeout when the clock stopped, so we were getting ready. But then the clock started again and everyone starts jumping around. I’m confused at it, but that didn’t lose the game for us. Mistakes through the game got us.”
Ward got Ignacio off to a hot start, scoring the game’s first seven points as the Bobcats built a 17-2 lead in the first quarter. Ward finished the game with 11 points, six rebounds, two steals and one blocked shot.
Ignacio led by as many as 12 points in the fourth quarter, but Holyoke began fouling and making baskets of its own. Nicholas Herrera and Kruz Pardo scored Ignacio’s only fourth-quarter points. They combined to go 11-of-18 from the foul line in the game.
The Bobcats’ lead was still six points with one minute to play, but the Dragons used 3s from Gunnar Kroeger, Martin Lindstrom and Bradley Cumming to get back in the game. Loya also made a key layup and was fouled for a traditional three-point play with 1 minute to go to cut Ignacio’s lead to three.
The Bobcats had a chance to win the game in regulation, but Hayes missed a long 3-pointer with less than 5 seconds to play.
Both teams struggled with turnovers throughout the game. Ignacio’s lead was cut to 27-21 at halftime after the Dragons went on an 11-0 run early in the second quarter. Ward hit a jumper at the halftime buzzer.
Ignacio was denied a third consecutive trip to the semifinals against Sanford, who beat No. 8 Ellicott 82-62 earlier Thursday.
The Bobcats will now face Ellicott in the consolation bracket at 1:15 p.m. Friday, while Holyoke will clash with Sanford, winners of two consecutive state championships and 71 consecutive games, two shy of the record for consecutive wins held by the Ridgway Demons.
“We’ve got to get refocused and decide whether we want to win a game here and get to the consolation championship,” Valdez said. “Ellicott has a good point guard who can fire the ball and is one of the best players here. We have to shut him down.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
