Playing for the first time of the year, the Mancos High School boys basketball team looked anything but rusty.

Bluejays demolish Navajo Prep

Opening last week at home against Navajo Prep on Jan. 9, the Bluejays dominated from the start, winning 80-57.

"I thought we played well," said Mancos coach Rodney Cox. "Offensively, we got up and down the court and moved the ball well. We got the ball inside, and they couldn't really stop our posts."

Junior center Ro Paschal led the Bluejays with 29 points, and senior Brandon Hood-Farley scored 17 points off the bench. Jayden Peacock, Daniel Christensen and Andrew Plunkett each scored 8 points.

"(Our bench) is really versatile," said Cox. I'm comfortable playing any of those guys at any spot."

Mancos races past Norwood

Wrapping up its week at Norwood on Jan. 10, Mancos cruised to victory, 72-53.

Paschal and senior guard Nigel Henry led Mancos with 16 points each, Plunkett scored 12 points, and Hood-Farley scored 10.

(Henry) did a really good job catching and shooting," Cox said. "Our point guards, (Jayden) and Adrian (Hernandez) did a really good job of running the court and distributing the ball."

Key to the victory was a second quarter that saw the Bluejays outscore Norwood, 24-6.

Now 5-3, Mancos returns to the practice court before playing at Ignacio (6-2) on Jan. 16. The Bobcats are ranked sixth in the state in Class 2A.

"(Ignacio) has been the monkey on our back for years," said Cox. "We're going to play them straight up. We're not going to be intimidated, we're not going to back down, and we're going to give them everything that we've got."