Ever since 2019, when Mancos broke up the impossibly long Ignacio string of victories in their San Juan Basin League series, the Bluejay-Bobcat meetings seem to have carried an extra buzz in the gymnasium.
On a snowy Tuesday night with a late tipoff, the pair of 2A heavyweights took center stage – one hoping to prove that January’s 23-point home loss was just an anomaly, the other hoping to all-but-clinch the league title.
Mancos (12-2, 6-0 2A/1A SJBL) overcame a feisty opening 12 minutes from Ignacio before clamping down defensively as part of a game-deciding 15-0 run to capture a 55-36 win over the Bobcats.
The hosts opened with a flourish, scoring 10 of the game’s first 13 points before Ignacio (7-4, 2-2 2A/1A SJBL) started to find a foothold. Bobcat senior Gabe Tucson continued his prolific season, burying a triple to cut the score to 10-9. Teammate Eppie Quintana then dropped in a layup to give Ignacio its only lead of the game.
After an 11-11 deadlock through one quarter, Mancos senior Connor Showalter took the Bobcat post defenders to task in the second stanza. Showalter powered in a shot from the left block, moments before classmate Evan Sehnert drained a three-pointer.
Ignacio answered with a couple of Tucson buckets, including a steal-and-score, to bring the game back to a 16-15 deficit.
The Bluejays were more than happy to oblige with an elevated tempo, however, as they came up with steals out of their trapping zone defense leading to breakaway baskets for both Showalter and Sehnert.
Quintana drilled a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 22-18, but Mancos’ defense made it difficult for any Bobcat to find clean looks over the remainder of the half. The hosts scored six more, building their lead to 10 points heading into the locker room.
With the defensive tone set, the Bluejays hassled Tucson, whose 13 halftime points kept the Bobcats believing they were just one run away from being right back in it. A bevy of Bobcat turnovers led to easy points for Mancos, as the Jays accounted for 12 transition points in the second half alone.
Mancos scored the first nine points of the second half, ballooning its lead to 37-18 with a 15-0 run that spanned two quarters.
Quintana ended the run with a triple, igniting a 9-2 Ignacio response to close within a dozen, but the visitors would get no closer.
Showalter regularly met double teams when he touched the ball, but the Bobcats couldn’t handle his arsenal of post moves. The 6’4” senior finished the night with 21 points, including a fast break layup that capped the scoring in the final two minutes.
“It’s always a big game for us,” said Showalter of their blossoming rivalry with Ignacio, “and in front of a great atmosphere, it was a lot of fun for us to go out and play well as a team.”
Sehnert added 11 points to the winning effort, while sophomore Kail Wayman scored seven points.
“We took what was available and really worked the ball around well,” Showalter said.
Tucson finished the night with 16 points to pace the visitors. Quintana added eight.
The Bluejays edged closer to clinching the regular season San Juan title with the victory, an achievement that Showalter hopes to be able to celebrate with his teammates.
Reflecting on the nearing goal, Showalter added, “With this group of seniors, it’d be really special to be able to enjoy a league title as part of my final year.”
Mancos will next host Nucla on Thursday, before a trip to Telluride on Saturday caps the team’s busy week.
Ignacio will look to rebound against Telluride on Wednesday, before facing Dolores for a Friday night showdown at DHS.
