BAYFIELD
The concept of space rarely applies to Ignacio High School point guard Wyatt Hayes.
He made shots from three steps outside the 3-point line look as smooth as layups and regularly appeared in the exact spot Bayfield High School tried to pass the ball.
Teammates found themselves open with the ball on the way into their shooting pocket.
Hayes finished with 22 points, eight assists and six steals Tuesday in a 67-42 win for the Bobcats, their 12th in a row this season and 10th consecutive over BHS.
“Early in the game when they were playing pressure defense, he took it upon himself and hit a couple of big shots to give us that gap that gave our guys some confidence,” IHS head coach Chris Valdez said.
BHS (8-7) opened the game in a zone but abandoned quickly after IHS (13-2) jumped out to a 12-4 lead after the first quarter.
“We thought we’d start in a zone, and their shooters made us come out pretty quickly,” said BHS junior Zane Phelps, son of Dion and Koel Phelps.
They stretched that eight-point lead to 14 by halftime and 25 at the start of the fourth quarter.
Hayes moved into more of a distributor’s role as the game progressed, unless he was at the front of a fast break with the ball in his hands.
“When the game was close I felt like if I made a big shot it would get the momentum going,” said Hayes, son of Cindy and Tim Hayes. “Once we were up I could get the team going.”
Adison Jones went right along with him with 18 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Anthony Manzanares also scored 13 for the Bobcats.
Ignacio’s starters scored all but one of the team’s points.
“We always say we’re really five deep. We’ve got three kids off the bench to help us, which they did,” Valdez said. “But the balance is absolutely essential for us down the stretch. They can’t just guard two of our people.”
BHS couldn’t find balance or traction on offense.
The Wolverines shot 29 percent from the field.
“We struggled to shoot the ball well (Tuesday),” BHS head coach Jeff Lehnus said. “It would have been interesting to see what would have transpired had we shot better.”
Phelps led the Wolverines with 12 points and 15 rebounds in a double-double.
BHS now has lost six out of its last seven games leading into Friday’s 7 p.m. Intermountain League showdown with Monte Vista.
“That’s why you have to focus on that word progress, even within a loss you have to find the good,” Lehnus said. “Then you go to work on progressing the things you need to get better at.”
The Bobcats are headed in the opposite direction as winners of 12 in a row.
They play Ridgway at home at 7 p.m. Friday in the SunUte Community Center.
“We know what they do. Their post game ain’t strong, but they’ve got three pretty good guards,” Valdez said. “We’ve got the guard play to match it.”
kgrabowski@durangoherald.com
