Mancos boys, girls lose to Ignacio in hoop action

Mancos boys, girls lose to Ignacio in hoop action

Dec. 7, 2000

BY JIM THOMAS
Journal Sports Editor

Prep boys and girls varsity basketball action is slowly moving into high gear.

Mancos High School boys and girls competed at Ignacio and both came out on the short end. The Blue Jay girls fell 58-44 while the MHS boys lost 59-50.

Ignacio’s Raegena Thompson gunned in 21 points in leading the Bobcats to the win Tuesday night, Dec. 5. Arla Velasquez chipped in 12.

The Blue Jays had to overcome the problems of being on the road. Many fouls were called against them. Kerri Morgan, who finished with the game with 19 points, and Katie Paxton, who popped in 9, both fouled out. With both of them gone with still four minutes to play, the Jays could not keep up with the Bobcats.

But the Jays also were their own worst enemy. The committed 21 turnovers and missed many field-goal tries during the nonconference game.

Mancos trailed 30-17 at the half. The Jays got close several times and made a game of it by closing to under 10 points until mid-way through the fourth quarter when the game got away from them.

Ignacio defeated Mancos in the boys’ game. The Bobcats, 1-1, were lead by four players scored in double digits. Laramie Miller scored 15 points, while Calvin Parks, Kevin Hronich and Chris Phillips added 12 apiece. Travis Clark paced Mancos with 15 while Bill Baker added 13 and Clint Hill and Nick Rubino tossed in 7 each.

The game was close all the way through. Ignacio led 11-9 at the end of the first and held a 29-25 advantage at the intermission. Igancio outscored Mancos 30-27 in the second half.

"We didn’t execute our offense," Mancos coach Gary Hill reported. "We also did a poor job rebounding. I guess it will be back to doing rebounding drills. We lost focus of our team concept. But on the good side, we learned we could press a little."

Mancos boys, 0-1, and girls, 2-1, host Bayfield beginning at 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, in the Performance Center.

Dolores girls crushed Green River, Utah, 87-21 on Friday, Dec. 1, and wiped out Monticello, Utah, 78-32 the next day.

"We played well against a weak Green River team," DHS first-year head coach Rob Mellott said. "A positive aspect was that we did not play down to the competition’s level."

Dolores led 12-2 at the end of the first quarter and stretched their lead to 34-13 at the break. The Bears outscored Green River 53-8 in the second half.

Jennifer Trevillian led the way with 13 points while Tracy Everett chipped in 12. Joni Everett and Amber Simmons both added 6 each.

The Bears had no problems with Monticello. They jumped out to a 21-6 lead at the end of the first quarter. They led 38-15 at the half. They outscored the Buckaroos 23-8 in the third and 16-7 in the fourth.

Trevillian led all scorers with 20 while Amber Cross Tracy Everett tossed in 11, Amanda Cross 10, and Ashley Reed 8.

"We played well as a team against Monticello," Mellott noted. "Everyone contributed in a positive way."

The Bears host Bayfield at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8, and Mellott said, "this will be the first real test."

The Bear boys will play Aztec Sophomores on Saturday.

DHS coach Todd Wynne said he was pleased with his team’s 63-59 win over Ignacio and his team’s hardfought 61-56 loss to Durango JV last weekend.

"I was proud of everyone on the team," he said. "All the players played their role. (Against Ignacio) Garrett (Nielson) and Tyler (Schmitt) came in at crucial points of the game and played outstanding. Once again our offense was very aggressive but our defense is what won that game. (Against the Demons) It was a good game to build from," he said.

Dolores County boys, 1-1, will compete Friday night and twice on Saturday at the annual Wolf Creek Classic in Pagosa Springs. The DCHS, 1-1, will return to action at Ridgway Dec. 14.

Dolores County girls crushed Durango C-team 53-27 in the first game of the Bulldog Classic Tournament at the Mancos Performance Center. Erin Fury led the way with 19 points while Krystal Neely added 9 and Rachel Hightower 7. DCHS jumped out to a 17-6 lead after the first period and coasted from there.

"We played pretty well offensively," first-year head coach Kim Young said. "We hustled on defense. We did get into foul trouble."

The Bulldogs fell to Shiprock JVs 53-31 in the championship game. The Chieftains led 11-2 at the end of the first period and held a commanding 30-9 lead at the half. Shiprock outscored DCHS 11-7 in the third but the Bulldogs outpointed the Chiefs 15-12 in the fourth quarter. Hightower scored 8 and Fury 6 for DCHS.

"We just could not get our offense going," she said. "We played pretty good defense."

The Panther girls, 1-1, open play today in the Rio Rancho (N.M.) Tournament. They will play again on Friday and Saturday.

The Panther boys, 2-0, host Piedra Vista (Farmington) at about 6 p.m. Saturday.