Trying to recover from a disappointing 38-point effort against a team which had just torched its previous opponent for 107, Ignacio wrapped up its regular-season schedule Tuesday night at Monticello, Utah - a tough task under the best of circumstances.
And unfortunately the Bobcats' outside shooting basically mirrored their work from three days earlier when the squad visited Ouray in their 2A/1A San Juan Basin League finale.
Able to make just three three-pointers in a 12-point loss to the 1A Trojans, IHS managed only two against the 1A Buckaroos and fell 71-53.
Junior guard Kruz Pardo managed one trey from deep and finished with a team-high 11 points, while classmate Cole McCaw booked 10 on the strength of 6-of-6 foul-line accuracy. Fellow junior guard Johnny Valdez was held to eight, and junior forward Kai Roubideaux just five as both he and fellow post Ocean Hunter fouled out.
Having led 16-12 after the first quarter and 29-22 at halftime, Monticello (13-9, 8-0 UHSAA Region 19) got a game-best 26 from 6'5" senior center Carson Duncan and 15 from 6'4" junior forward Jake Freestone.
Sophomore forward Weston Nebeker also cracked double figures with his 12 as Monticello successfully followed up last Friday's 61-point rout of R-19 team Monument Valley.
Up next for Ignacio (13-6, 11-1 SJBL) will be the 2A-District 3 Tournament Friday and Saturday at Montezuma-Cortez H.S., with Dolores awaiting them first at 6 p.m. Friday. Twice beaten by the 'Cats during the regular season, the Bears improved to 12-8 overall via a 49-43 home win over Mancos (6-14) in Tuesday night's tourney play-in contest.
IHS' girls (13-6), it was learned Wednesday morning, will first face Ridgway in Friday's 7:30 p.m. contest. Ridgway (7-12) eliminated Mancos (4-14) at home, 44-29, in Tuesday's play-in game.
