The level of energy inside the Mancos Performance Center on Feb. 3 was befitting of a matchup between the San Juan Basin League's top two teams. Blue-clad fans screamed words of support, red-clad fans cheered and players on both sides fed off the electric environment.
When all was said and done however, the much-hyped contest between the Mancos and Ignacio boys basketball teams turned out to be a one-sided affair as the hot-shooting Bobcats capitalized on numerous Bluejays miscues and coasted to a 70-54 victory.
"I thought that we just made a lot of little mistakes that ended up costing us the game," said Mancos head coach Rodney Cox. "(Ignacio) also shot lights out from the outside."
Among the bright spots for Mancos was the play of forward Daniel Christensen, who dominated the paint throughout the night in route to a game-high 22 points.
"We executed fairly well on offense," said Christensen "We tried to keep it simple because we know that Ro (Paschal) and I are one of the best post tandems in the league."
Mancos trailed 19-10 at the end of the first quarter, but cut the Bobcats lead to 24-19 with five minutes left in the first half after Christensen drilled a jump shot from the right elbow and sealed his defender down low and scored an easy layup.
Ignacio's outside shooting proved too much for Mancos to handle however, as the Bluejays fell behind 37-24 entering halftime and 57-37 entering the fourth quarter.
As a team, Ignacio hit seven of their 17 three point attempts in the game. Senior forward Adison Jones led the Bobcats in scoring with 20 points and junior guard Wyatt Hayes chipped in 17.
Mancos defeats Norwood
Three days after falling to Igancio, Mancos played at home against Norwood on Feb. 6 and pulled away for a 72-55 victory.
After a relatively competitive first-half ended with Mancos leading 38-35, the Bluejays outscored the Mavericks 19-8 in the third quarter and pulled away.
"We didn't come out ready to play and Norwood did," said Cox. "They have some big boys and they play good basketball. We calmed down in the second half and played much better basketball."
Senior point-guard Jayden Peacock led Mancos with 18 points. Paschal scored 15 points and Christensen had 14.
Bluejays fly past Ridgway
Wrapping up its week at home against Ridgway on Feb. 7, the Bluejays led 35-12 after the first quarter and 87-53 by the time the final buzzer sounded.
Senior guard Nigel Henry led the Bluejays with 20 points and paschal scored 16. Five Mancos players scored in double figures in the contest.
"We came out ready to play and we were on a mission," said Cox. "Ridgway is a team in turmoil and we caught them on a bad night. Our guards played really well."
With their record now at 11-5 on the season, Mancos travel to face Telluride on Feb. 13 before returning home to face Dolores on Feb. 20.