AZTEC – Thursday’s opening round of the Rumble in the Jungle boys basketball tournament opened at Lillywhite Gym and featured winning performances from local and area teams.
Action continues on Friday and will culminate with championship games on Saturday.
Here’s a recap of all the opening round action in the boys tournament.
The Bayfield High School boys basketball team took an early lead and never looked back, defeating Bloomfield 50-40 in the first round of The Rumble in the Jungle at Lillywhite Gym.
The Wolverines scored nine unanswered points to open the first period with three different players contributing to the scoreboard.
Bayfield’s 2-3 defense kept Bloomfield from finding success on the interior, taking advantage of its poor shooting from the 3-point line.
Bloomfield never relented, getting a spark behind senior Asaias Stover who connected on a pair of 3-pointers doubled with successful free throw attempts by senior Xavier Abernathy and sophomore Elijah Cooks to trim a 13-point deficit to three.
Both squads struggled to get momentum going early in the third period, turning the ball over and racking up personal fouls.
Bloomfield’s defense remained stingy and relied on Stover’s hot hand to keep Bloomfield within striking distance.
Bayfield seniors Cooper Roderick and Lincoln Williams dashed Bloomfield’s hopes in the fourth period. Roderick was continually left open in the corner, cashing in on a pair of 3-pointers, while Williams used his ball handling skills to drive the lane for a pair of layups to keep Bloomfield at arms length.
Roderick led Bayfield in scoring with 14 points, while Stover led the Bobcat offense with 12 points.
Bloomfield will have to lick its wounds quickly, turning around to play Durango Friday at 9 a.m.
Bayfield will have its hands full in its effort to make it to the championship game with Robertson in its way with tipoff scheduled for 12 p.m. Friday.
Tohatchi held off a pesky Ignacio team for a 43-37 first round victory after it found its footing in the second period, shooting 60 percent from the field, outscoring Ignacio 16-11.
Tohatchi senior Kyle Yazzie stirred the pot early in the second, connecting on a pair of 3-pointers to garner some separation from Ignacio after both teams combined for 13 points in the first period.
Rumble in the Jungle opening round scores
Aztec 89, Shiprock Northwest 26
Tohachi 43, Ignacio 37
Robertson 58, Durango 37
Bayfield 50, Bloomfield 40
Ignacio refused to go away despite the 10-point deficit to open the third period, opening strong on both the offensive and defensive fronts. Led by junior Ambrose Valdez, Ignacio took advantage of transitions on offense to open up shooting lanes, while it’s diamond defense took away Tohatchi’s ability to play in the paint.
Ignacio narrowed the gap to three to open the fourth period after a pair of scores by Valdez and senior Charley Pargin. But after an early timeout from Tohatchi’s bench, Yazzie and senior Adriano Begay took control of the game, giving the Cougars a 10-point lead late in the fourth, a lead Ignacio could not close.
Yazzie turned in a 12 point performance, leading the way for Tohatchi. Valdez cashed in on 15 points for Ignacio.
Ignacio will have to find success in the consolation bracket by starting with Shiprock Northwest Friday at 3 p.m.
Tohatchi will square off against Aztec in the other semifinal game at 6 p.m. Friday.
Robertson made its presence known in the first round of play, defeating a formidable opponent in Durango 58-37.
Defense was on full display to open the game with the first points not coming until a complete minute into the period.
It was the Cardinals that manufactured separation late in the opening period behind its stellar 2-3 defense, paving the way for freshman sensation George Smith to the dirty work inside the paint on offense.
“Playing with energy, effort and enthusiasm on defense is going to score you some points,” Robertson head coach James Branch said. “We didn’t get the ball off and run what I normally wanted, but we got enough and our defense rattled them.”
Shooting issues snuck its way into the period for Robertson, missing out on opportunities underneath the glass, but its main character in the defense played relentlessly against what is usually a high-powered offense from Durango.
The Cardinals held Durango to a total of three points in the second period, consistently displaying great instincts to steal passes combined with a quick hands to bat shots. Smith was the engine that made Robertson’s offense run, using quick intuition to navigate his way through Durango’s box defense and at times hitting the occasional 3- pointer from the wing.
The Demons switched to a 2-3 defense to begin the third period, but Robertson seniors Jesse James Gonzales and Brian Lucero spread the Durango Demons out, opening the 3-pointer in the corner.
The Cardinals amassed 21 points in the third period to push its lead to 19 points, a lead that Durango’s offense could not overcome.
Robertson’s defense forced over 30 turnovers and featured three players that scored in the double digits with Smith leading the way with 16 points.
“I haven’t had a lot of time because most of these guys play football but we have continuity here with me in my fourth year so there’s a culture established here,” Branch said. “We wanted to come out here and see different teams, and to start this way, I love it.”
Durango (3-2) will hope to right the ship in the second day of the tournament when it faces Bloomfield at 9 a.m. on Friday.
Robertson (5-2), ranked second in Class 3A according to the most recent coaches’ polls, looks to earn its bid to the championship game with a victory over Bayfield Friday at 12 p.m.
Aztec dominated from start to finish in its 89-26 romping of Northwest from Shiprock in the opening round of its Rumble in The Jungle tournament Thursday night.
Four of Aztec’s five starters scored in the double digits with senior Quintin Secatero leading the way with 25 points.
“Tonight was about getting the boys confidence at the start of this tournament because there’s some tough teams in it,” Aztec head coach Ryan Dee said. “It’s early in the season and we’re still working through some stuff and it takes time, but I know the boys are starting to click.”
The Tigers wasted little time establishing a lead behind steals that looked almost too easy, quickly getting fast breaks to Secatero and junior Christian Jacquez for uncontested layups.
Aztec took a 34 point lead into the half with the game pretty much put to bed for the Falcons.
The Tigers shot 55 percent from the field and utilized the size of senior Paxton Williford underneath the basket.
“We play offense off of our defense, so with that pressure I am hoping to generate a lot of runs whenever we are having our way with the defense,” Dee said.
Northwest will try to bounce back Friday when it faces Ignacio at 3 p.m.
Aztec (2-5) will hope to carry Thursday’s success over to Friday when it faces Tohatchi in the semifinal game at 6 p.m.
