Reinforcements for the one-man army known as Gabe Cox showed up much later Saturday afternoon, January 6, than commanding general Chris Valdez would have preferred, but still almost in time for the Ignacio boys to swipe victory away from hosting Monte Vista in the crews’ first game after the holiday break.
Despite having trailed the 2A Pirates ever since junior forward Kaden Madrid sank a corner three-pointer gaining MVHS a 7-4 lead early in the first quarter – it rapidly swelled to 13-4 after a trey by Alex Marquez and sophomore guard/forward Azariah Hurtado’s subsequent two-and-one effort with 3:48 left – the 3A Bobcats found themselves only five points behind, 49-44, with less than a minute left in regulation after senior guard Trajan Garcia sank his second triple of the fourth and final frame.
Having struck from straight away, Garcia’s next try from that location was unsuccessful, and junior Ismael Medina clutched the rebound – somehow beyond Cox’s wingspan – then passed ahead to Hurtado. Fouled with 13.8 ticks left on the clock, Hurtado hit one of two free throws, solidifying MVHS’ two-score advantage.
Refusing to concede, Ignacio then managed to inbound and whip the ball forward to Garcia in the near corner. Spinning away from a defender and directly into a shooting stance, Garcia’s three-pointer was good … but waved off due to a traveling violation as he attempted to maintain balance while pivoting.
Monte Vista then inbounded to Marquez, and immediately fouled the junior guard with 0:06.8 still remaining. Having made his previous two FTs, rebuilding the Pirates’ lead to 49-41 with 45.8 left, Marquez made sure to seal up a 52-44 win with two more makes – leaving him 4-of-8 from the charity stripe and increasing his point total to a team-high 18.
Doing his best work when driving to the basket and drawing contact, Hurtado went 10-of-15 from the foul line and ended up with 16 points. Madrid finished with six points, all during the first half (which ended with MVHS up 31-20), and sophomore reserve Alex Gonzales logged five points, including a key three-ball during the second quarter keeping the ’Cats – who’d closed the aforementioned early gap to 13-10 by the end of the first – at bay, 20-12.
Senior guard Phillip Quintana, who’d foul out with 2:52 left in the game, concluded the first half with a steal and end-to-end take for a buzzer-beating layup, giving Ignacio (4-4 overall, 0-0 3A/4A Intermountain) momentum which carried into the third quarter and helped cut – via a three by senior guard Devante Montoya, assisted by Cox – MVHS’ lead down to 31-25.
The Pirates (5-3, 0-0 2A/3A Southern Peaks) managed to again generate enough offense to rebuild their lead to 37-28 going into the fourth quarter, but the ’Cats kept clawing and crept back to 42-37 after Quintana, catching junior Coty Webb’s deflected cross-court pass, drained a trey from the left wing and freshman Cayson Burcham made one of two FTs.
Making seven of IHS’ nine shots from the field while scoring all ten of IHS’ first-quarter points and 16 of the Bobcats’ first-half 20, Cox (3-7 FT) racked up a game-high 25 points in defeat, while collecting (unofficially) 15 rebounds. Garcia ended up booking six points, Quintana five and Montoya three. Sophomore Trace Crane and Webb chipped in two points apiece.
Ignacio will next begin IML work, welcoming 4A Alamosa on Friday night, January 12, then 4A Pagosa Springs on the 13th. AHS (7-2 overall, 0-0 league) will enter IHS Gymnasium first on a five-game win streak, including a 32-31 home win over 2A Sanford on the 5th and a 78-76 triumph on the 6th at non-league Delta (2-6, 0-0 4A Western Slope).
LADY ’CATS STOPPED SHORT
Despite getting support offensively in the paint from junior forward DaLaney Wesner, senior center/forward Solymar Cosio managed to net only two of her game-high nine points after halftime as Ignacio lost a close 37-31 contest to Monte Vista in the teams’ first 2024 outing.
Having led 5-4 after one quarter, the visiting Lady Bobcats (4-4, 0-0 3A/4A Intermountain) went back into their locker room dead-even with the Lady Pirates (6-1, 0-0 2A/3A Southern Peaks) at 15-15. Consistency ultimately paid off for MVHS, however; after scoring 11 points during the second quarter, Monte Vista then posted 11 in the third and 11 in the fourth – winning the second half 22-16.
Juniors Allessah Archuleta and Sasha Dupont each scored seven points for the Lady Pirates, and each sank one of the Lady Pirates’ two three-pointers. Particularly well-timed, Dupont’s make came during the fourth quarter and helped the home team maintain just enough separation on the scoreboard. Sophomore Heysenny Beltran scored six points, while seniors Zariah Archuleta and Stephanie Lopez each contributed five.
Wesner managed eight points in defeat, and senior Maci Barnes scored six. “Junior Marissa Olguin was held to just three points and senior Darlyn Mendoza-Lechuga three while making only one of her five free throws (IHS went 8-of-18 overall; MVHS finished 7-of-14).”
IHS will next host 4A Alamosa Friday evening, January 12, with 4A Pagosa Springs coming to town on the 13th. AHS stood 6-3 overall (0-0 IML) prior to hosting 5A Pueblo County (5-3 overall) on the 9th, but results were unavailable at press time.