Well aware that Ignacio had one vicious run – at the least – in them despite trailing by 17 points at halftime on Thursday, Bayfield head coach Scott Key later attributed his team’s 50-42 victory to two things:
An amped Senior Appreciation Night atmosphere, and a second-quarter effort he felt couldn’t have been much better.
“Probably some of the most flawless basketball I’ve seen in a really long time; we executed well,” he said. “I wish we would have taken that momentum into the third … but we got the job done.”
“I mean, we were playing as a team,” sophomore guard Lincoln Williams said. “Had the ball movement, found the open guys and they hit their shots – that’s what worked for us, so we kept doing it. Executed our offense and played good defense.”
Getting one three-pointer from senior Jackson Queen, plus a somewhat-unexpected trey from senior Noah Chamblee – part of a special starting unit also including the regular Williams, fellow senior reserve Silas Wilbourn and varsity call-ups Byron Pringle and Jonathan Chapman – the Wolverines capped off the second stanza with senior Lance Mazur’s buzzer-beating triple from four feet behind the arc. That gave the hosts 19 points in the period, compared to just a Devante Montoya trey for the guests.
As the third quarter began, with Mazur cashing another three, things seemed as if they’d only improve in favor of the Wolverines (6-5 overall, 1-2 3A/4A Intermountain) – especially when Mazur converted an and-one three-point play, inflating Bayfield’s advantage to an imposing 35-14.
But then … Ignacio ignited.
Powered by two more Montoya threes, the Bobcats (3-8, 0-3 IML) quickly closed to 39-27 with 1:23 left. Fellow junior Phillip Quintana recorded five (of his 10) points during the rally, as IHS soon went into the fourth and final frame down 40-29 after Mazur’s three-quarter-court heave rimmed out at the buzzer.
Hampered by three personal fouls, all in the third quarter, Ignacio senior Eppie Quintana helped the ’Cats continue clawing back. After junior Gabe Cox began the fourth with a basket inside, Quintana dropped in back-to-back mid-range runners within the first 90 ticks. Queen countered with two points, but the elder Quintana struck back with a corner three cutting the deficit down to just four points, 42-38, with 4:32 remaining in regulation.
“We tend to, when we do have a big lead, sometimes kind of get a little too comfortable,” Key said. “And we’re working on developing that ‘killer instinct’ to take it all the way through. But Ignacio’s got a good program; they’re well-coached, and they’re going to make a run.”
“We come out and we play really good for maybe a half, and then we let fatigue or something mental get to us – we’re still trying to figure it out,” senior guard Max Meyers said.
BHS caught a critical break when Eppie Quintana (11 points) fouled out with 2:07 remaining, and Wolverine Devin Cundiff sinking two free throws rebuilding the home team’s lead to 48-40. Hounded constantly by a rotation of Queen, Chamblee and Wilbourn, Cox (10 points) managed one last bucket late but the Wolverines still prevailed by eight.
“The biggest thing was trying to put (Cox) in foul trouble – which, really, we didn’t do a very good job of doing,” Key said. “But we did stay active with people cutting in and out, keeping him (occupied); that left open a lot of opportunities on the perimeter, and it really showed … where we were getting touches on the inside, then kicking it outside and making our threes.”
“You know, any time that you have some kind of special night, it always brings a different kind of intensity,” he said. “And we have nine seniors, nine guys that were pretty pumped up and ready to play, and I think we really played well as a team.”
Interior force Caden Wood, one of the nine, was out sick and senior reserve Kord Tideman was also sidelined.
Queen racked up a game-high 19 points. His first two 3-pointers helped the Wolverines cling to a slim 10-9 lead after one quarter. Mazur logged 11, while Chamblee contributed five points, Cundiff four and Meyers three.
Each squad canned six treys in the game, but BHS ended up 12-of-22 from the free-throw line and IHS just 2-of-2.
Montoya finished with nine points in defeat, and sophomore Charlie Pargin two.
“After this big win, we have more confidence,” said Williams (eight points). “We’re just going into every game pushing.”
“The fans were amazing; it was one of the fullest houses we’ve had,” Key said. “Ignacio, their fans travel well so it made for a really loud, anxious gym! And after losing (to Montezuma-Cortez and Centauri), we were hungry to get on the right path again … and we’re excited where we’re at.”
The Bobcats will next see action on Friday when they face CHS in La Jara. Bayfield, meanwhile, was to next visit Pagosa Springs on Saturday night (Jan. 21), but results were unavailable at press time.
NOTE: Standing 9-2 overall, 1-1 IML and ranked No. 6 in Class 4A, PSHS’ scheduled home game Friday versus 4A No. 10 Alamosa was postponed because of weather conditions preventing the Mean Moose from traveling over Wolf Creek Pass.
