Every member of the Ignacio High School boys basketball starting five knows what it’s like to win a regional tournament and advance to state.
The all also know what it feels like to lose two regional championship games and have their season end short.
They’ll bring those experiences into the CHSAA Class 2A western region tournament, where the Bobcats will face Hotchkiss at 4:30 p.m. Friday in the first round at Grand Junction High School.
“These kids have been playing varsity ball since they were freshman – all of them,” IHS head coach Chris Valdez said of his starters. “Adison (Jones) will play in his fourth straight regional tournament. He knows what the pressure’s like.”
Jones, a senior forward, has risen to the occasion all season for IHS (19-2).
He leads the Bobcats averaging 18 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots per game all while battling a knee injury for the season’s final stretch.
“He’s still having trouble with the knee. He got fitted for a brace (Tuesday),” Valdez said. “They think he’ll be able to play just fine.”
Jones pairs in the front-court with junior Nick Herrera, who nearly averages a double-double at nine points and 7.1 rebounds per game.
The back-court, though, is where the Bobcats excel.
They feature three juniors that all score more than seven points per game in Wyatt Hayes, Anthony Manzanares and Tucker Ward.
Hayes runs the show on defense and offense.
He leads Class 2A and ranks second across all classifications in steals at 5.5 per game and is fourth in the state in assists at 6.5 per contest.
The Bobcats will need steady production from all five because their bench lacks varsity experience before this season.
Valdez isn’t worried about the lack of depth affecting IHS.
“I think it could work itself out. We played two pressure games last week, which we were able to overcome and win,” he said. “We have to be prepared for this. We’re trying to get those games back-to-back. We’ve got to play a game, win it, suck it up and expect to play another one. For those five, if that’s all that plays, that’s all that plays.”
They’ll face a Hotchkiss (13-8) squad that finished fifth in the 2A/1A Western Slope league.
The Bulldogs list nine players on their MaxPreps roster and have not posted statistics.
“They’re gonna be physical. They’re a strong group of kids. Everyone’s around 6-foot, 6-1,” Valdez said. “No small kids, no real monsters. That’s really about all we know.”
That and the fact that Hotchkiss exclusively runs a zone defense.
“We don’t run into a lot of zone down here, and they do nothing but zone,” Valdez said. “The wingspan on those kids is going to be pretty big. It sounds like they’re pretty aggressive in that zone. We’re working on we’re going to take care of that. Our speed will come into effect.”
Should the Bobcats advance, they’ll face either Paonia or Soroco in the championship game Saturday at Grand Junction Central.
“If you want to win it all, you’ve got to beat them all,” Valdez said. “We’re excited at where we’re at.”
kgrabowski@durangoherald.com
