IHS boys win one of three at Aztec tourney
Any third-day opponent at Aztec, New Mexico’s Rumble in ‘The Jungle’ would have put up stiffer resistance against Ignacio than what the Bobcats had devastated barely 24 hours earlier.
And with fifth place at the Dec. 19-21 event still available to them, thanks to decimating 1A Shiprock, N.M., Northwest 79-9 in the consolation semifinals, IHS squared off against none other than 5A Durango. Given the chance to atone for, or at least improve upon, a 62-47 road loss on the 6th to the Demons, the ’Cats indeed closed the gap on the 21st but still fell 51-43 inside AHS’ Lillywhite Gymnasium.
Individual statistics had yet to be tallied and reported as of press time, but it was known that junior Trace Crane was named All-Tournament as Ignacio closed out the front half of its 2024-25 schedule standing an even 4-4 overall. Durango, meanwhile, improved to 6-2 after fully rebounding from a humbling 58-37 loss on Day 1 to Las Vegas, N.M., Robertson – runner-up to Farmington Navajo Prep at last season’s NMAA/Nusenda Credit Union Class 3A State Championships.
One of the favorites to capture the ultimate crown this winter, RHS (7-2 overall) went 3-0 at the Rumble and placed first by taking down talented Tohatchi, N.M., 61 to 50 in the Saturday night finale. The Cougars (8-2), however, could have considered themselves lucky to have reached the first-place game, after avoiding a first-round meltdown against IHS.
After leading Trae Seibel’s Bobcats 9-4 after one quarter, then quickly growing that lead to 18-6 when senior Kyle Yazzie both swished a three-pointer plus a free throw (after being fouled on his shot by Sonny Flores) with 6:14 still remaining in the second, THS’ advantage was already beginning to crumble despite standing 25-15 at intermission.
Ignacio sophomore guard/forward Cayson Burcham sank a free throw with only 1.4 ticks left until halftime, then started the third quarter canning a three-pointer and making two FTs shortly after. Thanks to senior Josh Dawes’ six points in the third, Tohatchi managed to repel IHS’ advance and started the final frame up 33-24.
But behind junior guard Ambrose Valdez, the ’Cats quickly clawed back to 33-30 before the cornered Cougars again responded by going on a 7-0 run. Valdez then nailed a three with 3:52 remaining, and with 1:16 to go brought Ignacio back to 41-35 via a layup resulting from a steal and assist courtesy junior guard D.J. Hendren.
Seibel then used a 30-second timeout to plan for a possible final push, but Hendren was called for his disqualifying fifth personal foul literally one tick after play resumed, and IHS couldn’t recover in falling 43-37.
Valdez ended up with a game-high 15 points and Burcham ten, while Crane and senior Angelo Frost each scored four points. Senior Charley Pargin and Flores chipped in two points apiece. Yazzie finished with 13 points and Dawes 11 for Tohatchi, which also got seven points from senior Valentino Dawes and six each from senior Adriano Begay and junior DeAndre Rios.
Pit against Northwest on Day 2, Ignacio came out blasting and put up 25 points in the first quarter, then 27 in the second. The Bobcats then totaled just 27 points after halftime, knowing that things were well in hand. Crane and Frost each ended up with 12 points, while Valdez booked 11 (all before halftime) as a dozen ’Cats scored at least a point in the blowout.
Senior Lincoln Gillespie logged eight points; Hendren, Pargin and senior Coty Webb scored six apiece.
4A Aztec (3-6 overall) saved third place at the tournament by beating 3A Bayfield 68-54, dropping the Wolverines to 2-3 going into the lengthy holiday break. Improving to 4-5 overall, 4A Bloomfield, N.M., placed seventh by crushing Northwest 72-17 early in the defining Saturday session.