The Ignacio Bobcats on Saturday exhibited a carpe diem mentality in the bright, sunlit gym at Montezuma-Cortez High School, and for the first two quarters, appeared to be in position to hoist the Class 2A-District 3 Tournament champions’ plaque.
Behind senior Gabe Tucson’s early seven points, the No. 2 seed Ignacio went up 11-4 on San Juan Basin League powerhouse Mancos, hoping to follow up on their 58-38 rout of Western Slope Leaguers Olathe the night before.
But though the weekend’s forecast appeared sunny and clear, there was a strong chance of an afternoon Kail storm.
Having virtually drowned No. 5 Telluride’s title dreams in the tourney’s first semifinal with a 21-point burst in three quarters of No. 1 Mancos’ 74-36 conquest, sophomore Mancos guard Kail Wayman again rained down enough points to drown their hopes.
Singlehandedly, Wayman made all of Mancos’ second-quarter points. And his back-to-back 3-pointers at the start of the third quarter not only numbed the effect of Bobcat Eppie Quintana’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer ending the first half, but they gave Mancos its first lead in the showdown, 21-20.
“He said just run the danged plays,” Wayman said, paraphrasing head coach Bob Archibeque’s halftime instructions. “So we ran the plays, started working together … and that’s how things turned around. It gets a little tiring playing … the same teams, but we were ready for them and wanted to get it done today.”
“Second half, we made some adjustments, and the kids responded,” said Archibeque. “Number 3 – Tucson – had a heck of a first half, and that was our concern. Second half, we shut him down better.”
Slowed by three first-half fouls, senior Mancos center/forward Connor Showalter followed up Wayman’s makes with just his third basket, but sophomore Ignacio guard Devante Montoya countered with a three to tie the score at 23.
The sides entered the fourth quarter still tied at 29 after Mancos’ Chris Medina somehow sank a baseline jumper with the Bobcat post man, Gabe Cox, all over him.
With seniors Evan Sehnert and Mason Goodwin playing injured and knowing the ’Cats would key on Wayman outside, Archibeque moved the ball inside. With Showalter working in the paint, the Jays got nine straight points from their big man and held a 38-33 lead going into the final minute, when Quintana fouled out with 0:56.9 remaining.
“We want to give him the ball, and everyone collapses on him because he’s such a great player. And then we have open shots on the three-point line,” said Wayman. “So we just give it to him.”
The move inside left Ignacio helpless.
“Cox got tired in the third and fourth, and they went inside,” said Ignacio head coach Chris Valdez. “We weren’t getting any help … and they got two or three quick baskets – gave (us) that deficit we couldn’t overcome.”
And with Tucson playing with four fouls, Mancos sewed up a 41-33 victory with a free throw by senior Edgar Hernandez and two from Wayman.
“We made the statement that we’re the best in the district, and that when we work together no one can stop us,” said Wayman, who had a game-high 19 points – besting Tucson by two. Showalter ended up with 15 points. Hernandez had three, and Sehnert and Medina each had two.
Montoya finished with seven points for Ignacio; Quintana, five; Cox and freshman Charlie Pargin, two.
Sophomore Phillip Quintana, who had burned Olathe for a game-high 17 points, was held to zero.
“We came out with an attitude that we’re going to go out and play hard, and that they’re going to have to take it from us,” Valdez said. “And they did; they’re a good basketball team – I think they’re top-four – when they’re playing at their best.”
Mancos (18-3), seeded No. 5 in the state tournament, will host Region V against No. 28 Golden View Classical Academy (10-10) at 6 p.m. May 4. No. 12 Peyton (15-6) and 21-seed Crested Butte (12-9) will square off in the 7:30 p.m. game. The winners will clash March 5 at 2 p.m.
“We’ll pack the gym,” Archibeque said. “The Mancos fans are great fans.”
Seeded No. 20 among the state tournament’s 32 teams Ignacio (16-6 overall) will play No. 13 Aurora Lotus School for Excellence (17-4) Friday at 5:30 p.m., as part of Region IV at No. 4 Vail Mountain. Vail Mountain (17-3) will then face 29-seed Lyons (13-9) in the 7 p.m. contest; the winners will then battle the next afternoon at 2 p.m.
Still alive via a 48-42 win over Olathe (6-15) in District 3’s third-place game, Telluride (8-14) received the State Tournament’s No. 30 seed and will next face Region III host Sanford (18-4), with 14-seed Holyoke (13-9) and 19-seed Byers (15-7) meeting in the regional’s other semifinal.
