Coming off three solid games at the Cowboy Shootout tournament in Meeker, the Mancos High School boys basketball team returned home brimming with confidence.
Unfortunately for the Blujays, that confidence was short lived as the team was blasted by Center High School, 72-59, on Dec. 16.
"We were kind of in a funk," said Mancos head coach Rodney Cox. "We weren't ready to play and that's my fault. This one was on me."
Struggling to find a rhythm early on, the Bluejays trailed 11-3 at the end of the first quarter and 38-27 at halftime. Cox said that Mancos missed several open shots in the first half.
"We just couldn't hit a shot and we couldn't get in a flow," said Cox. "We were real stagnant and that cost us."
Further complicating matters for the Bluejays was the absence of leading scorer Ro Paschal, who left the game midway through the second quarter with an ankle injury. Senior forward Brandon Hood-Farley missed the entire game with the flu.
"We were shorthanded, but that's not an excuse," said Cox.
Senior Daniel Christiansen led Mancos in scoring with 20 points. Jayden Peacock scored 13 points and Nigel Henry chipped in 12. Fidel Avalos added six points and Andrew Christiansen scored two.
"The guys coming off the bench were impressive," said Cox. "I was very pleased with (Avalos, Andrew Christiansen, and Nic Archuleta)."
With their record now at 3-2 on the season, the Bluejays will next play on the road against Bayfield (2-1) on Dec. 18.
"I'm expecting us to play better than we did (against Center)," said Cox. "I'm expecting us to move our feet and stop reaching. I guarantee that we won't play like we did."
