PUEBLO
None of the Ignacio High School boys basketball players exiting the locker room wanted to hear, “Good job,” or, “It was a great season.”
They wanted nothing more than to simply leave Massari Arena on the CSU-Pueblo campus after losing to Sanford 47-37 in the semifinals of the Colorado High School Activities Association Class 2A Boys Basketball State Championships.
The loss ended Ignacio’s unbeaten season and its chance at the state title.
“I’m not going to take away from anything we did this season,” IHS head coach Chris Valdez said. “We went 24-0; our school’s never done that before.”
That undefeated start granted the Bobcats the No. 1 seed in the state tournament, but that didn’t help them against No. 4 Sanford (25-1) and the Indians’ defense.
Sanford held IHS (24-1) to 14-of-44 shooting and 4-of-18 from behind the 3-point line.
“They have a great defense, but we didn’t really execute,” IHS forward Adison Jones said. “Our shooting wasn’t on (Friday).”
Sanford scored the game’s first six points and led 10-2 after the first quarter. The Indians stretched that margin to 10 at halftime, leading 19-9.
Sanford primarily flexed its muscle on the boards, outrebounding the Bobcats 32-19 in the game.
Ignacio’s defense played well late in the first quarter and forced Sanford into 14 turnovers. It helped the Bobcats mount a comeback in the second half.
Senior Clayton Jefferson cut the Bobcats’ deficit to four late in the third quarter, but Sanford responded with a layup and free throw from Miles Caldon to stretch it back out to seven.
The Bobcats never called that close again.
“We thought we had it, and we just relaxed,” Jones said. “We needed to put the pressure back on.”
Jones tied for the team scoring lead with Anthony Manzanares; both players had seven points.
Chance Canty led Sanford with 12 points and seven rebounds. He was the beneficiary of several inbounds plays that freed him under the basket and buried any chance of an IHS comeback.
“You can’t do that against a good team and expect to win,” Valdez said.
The Bobcats’ first loss of the season drops them into the third-place game at 4 p.m. Saturday, where they’ll play No. 2 Lutheran, which lost 64-57 to No. 3 Akron in the other semifinal.
Akron and Sanford will play for the the Class 2A state championship at 7 p.m. Saturday.
IHS last played in the third-place game in 2011 when they lost by two points to Yuma to finish fourth best in class.
“They have to be ready. You’ve got seniors there, and this is their last stand,” Valdez said. “This means something to us, for our seniors and all these kids. I believe in these kids. I’ve believed in them all year.”
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