Ridgway led 15-11 after the first quarter, and it used a dribble-drive offense to extend its lead to nine with just over 5 ½ minutes remaining in the second quarter, before Mancos head coach Rodney Cox called timeout and switched to a 2-3 zone.
But even then, the Demons found ways to score by moving the ball around the perimeter and knocking down open jumpers to take a 33-20 lead at half.
“We weren’t blocking out, we weren’t rebounding, and we weren’t playing good defense,” Cox said of his team’s first half play. “Just lackluster performance on everybody’s part.”
“I don’t think the ball touched the paint the whole second quarter, maybe once or twice,” he said of the offensive struggles.
But the Blue Jays put it all together in the third quarter, with Adrian Hernandez starting the party with a 3-pointer on their opening possession.
From there, the Mancos fed the ball inside to senior Ro Paschal, who scored 15 points in the quarter to give the Jays a 41-40 lead entering the fourth.
“That’s been our game plan from day one,” Cox said of his team playing inside-out. “We get the ball in the paint – whether it’s a drive or a pass to Ro [Paschal] or the high post – they look to score first, and if not they kick it out and we’ve got good shooters when they’re in rhythm.”
Paschal was dominant inside, but he relied on good entry passes from guards on the wing or the high-post.
Andrew Plunkett assisted Paschal on a pass from his high-post position, and later – with guards dropping to try and contain Paschal – Plunkett found Hernandez for his second 3-pointer of the quarter.
Cox also said that he thought Caleb Yoder made some good passes inside to help the Blue Jays, but it was Yoder’s energy that was even more beneficial.
Yoder had two steals in the third quarter and an offensive rebound, but even when he couldn’t snare a ball off the offensive glass, he was able to tip it out to teammates to keep possessions alive.
“Twice he tipped it out on a free throw and we got possession of it, and those are huge momentum changers,” said Cox.
Yoder wasn’t the tallest player on the floor, nor was he the best leaper. But as Cox explained, “He’s got great instincts. Great, great basketball instincts.”
Paschal scored the Blue Jays’ first four points of the fourth quarter and Mancos held onto a one-point lead early.
Then, Hernandez faked out his defender with a quick behind-the-back dribble and finished with a baseline layup, and Andrew Christensen knocked down a triple to give Mancos a six-point lead midway through the quarter.
But Ridgway’s Jimmy Saville responded with a three of his own to pull back within three.
Clinging to a narrow lead in the closing minutes, the Blue Jays went back inside to Paschal, who scored seven straight points for Mancos.
Ridgway tried to slow Paschal by fronting him or sending double-teams, but the 6-foot-5 senior couldn’t be stopped. He wasn’t perfect from the field, but even when he missed he was often able to corral his own rebound and put it back.
He capped off the scoring run with a three-point play to give Mancos a 57-51 lead with two minutes remaining, and Hernandez and Plunkett hit free throws down the stretch to secur a 59-52 win for the Jays.
Paschal led with a game-high 32 points and Hernandez knocked down three 3-pointers to finish with 14 points.
Christensen connected on two triples of his own and finished with eight, Griff Hoover and Yoder each scored two and Plunkett added a free throw in the victory.
Cox was happy with his team’s come-from-behind win – after trailing by 13 at half – but said that they’ve shown the same fight in every game this year.
“These kids have never quit in any game that they’ve ever been in,” he said. “I just think they’re starting to get a little more comfortable.”
