The Ignacio boys found their way to Durango - and it went through Dove Creek.
The Ignacio High School boys basketball team beat Telluride 43-36 Saturday in the championship game of the San Juan Basin District Tournament in Dove Creek.
The victory improved the Bobcats to 20-1 overall. They also earned the right to host a four-team Class 2A regional tournament Friday and Saturday at Durango High School.
The Bobcats will play La Veta in next Friday's regional opener.
"That might have been the best game defensively that we've played this year," Ignacio head coach Chris Valdez said.
"Oakley Hayes ... played fantastic defense on (Mike) Matthews," Valdez said. "The kid (Matthews) wasn't able to penetrate ... he couldn't buy a basket. Really, everybody's defense was a notch up (Saturday)."
He said defense and rebounding, particularly late in the game, sealed the win for the Bobcats.
The Bobcats led from start to finish in the low-scoring game. Ignacio led 17-12 at the end of the first half.
The lead grew to 10 in the third quarter before Telluride chipped away, eventually cutting it to four points midway through the fourth quarter.
Micah Odoms led Ignacio with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Alex Herrera had eight points and 10 rebounds, despite being limited by fouls.
He picked up three personals in the first half and had to sit.
He returned in the second half.
Late in the game, with four fouls, Herrera had a big, crowd-pleasing block when he pinned a shot by Matthews, the Fort Lewis College recruit, against the backboard.
"The crowd went crazy ... it was a five-point game. Alex had four fouls. Two of the best players in the league went up ... and Alex pinned the shot against the board," Valdez said.
Matthews finished with 11 points, including a couple of late baskets and foul shots.
"We really do appreciate the support of the people of Ignacio," Valdez said. "I bet the gym was three-quarters full with Ignacio fans. And other fans helped us, too, from Bayfield, Mancos, Durango. That's really helping us. Hopefully, that will carry over to next week."
Final seedings for the regionals will be announced today.
Unofficially, Ignacio and La Veta will play in one boys regional game at Durango. Plateau Valley (Collbran) will play Dayspring Christian (Greeley) in the other boys regional game at DHS on Friday.
Saturday's win was the second for the Ignacio boys in three meetings with Telluride.
Telluride, 17-3, beat the Bobcats by one point in Ignacio, and IHS won by the same margin against the Miners in Telluride. The Telluride boys will play in the 2A regional at Adams State College in Alamosa next weekend.
In the girls San Juan Basin District bracket, Dolores beat Mancos 36-30 in the championship, and Dolores will host a four-team regional at Durango High School next Friday and Saturday.
Mancos travels to Alamosa for its regional tournament play at Adams State College, also Friday and Saturday.
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
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