Even though the Dolores High School boys basketball team defeated Ignacio earlier this season, Bears’ head coach Larry Schwartz knew that beating the Bobcats a second time would be no easy task.
Sure enough, Ignacio arrived in Dolores on Jan. 11 well prepared, and after four tough quarters, the Bears found themselves on the wrong end of a 48-35 final score.
“(Ignacio head coach) Chris Valdez and I talked about it at the end. (Ignacio) had two tough games under its belt since (New Year’s) and hasn’t played since before Christmas break,” Schwartz said. “It showed. Offensively, we looked out of rhythm and out of sorts, and Ignacio played really well tonight.”
Among the consistent themes throughout the contest was Dolores’ difficulty in executing its offense and getting open shots as Bears’ players consistently launched off-balance shots from the perimeter.
An exception to the Dolores norm was star senior Tristan Swagerty, who consistently attacked opposing defenders and scored from all areas of the floor on his way to a team-high 22 points. Often fighting double and triple teams however, Swagerty uncharacteristically turned the ball over several times and was forced into several difficult shots.
“He’s having a phenomenal year,” Schwartz said of Swagerty. “When we get it inside, and the double team comes, we have to learn how to kick it out to our young shooters. Once we figure that part of the puzzle out, we’ll be fine.”
Despite their offensive difficulties, the Bears remained competitive throughout the first half, which ended with Dolores trailing 19-13.
The score would have been even closer if not for a momentum-changing layup by Ignacio freshman Gabe Tucson with two seconds left in the half, which came after Valdez called a set play from the sidelines that included a back pick and an alley-oop pass.
Throughout much of the second half, Ignacio ran a basic flex offense that utilized back-picks along the baseline and created easy scoring opportunities. At one point, Valdez screamed from his bench, “Run something you know, something basic, like middle school,” and his players responded.
“We thought we adjusted to (Ignacio’s) flex offense at halftime, but we let them sneak in too many of those backdoor cuts,” Schwartz said. I was proud of our defense overall, but we can still do a better job.”
Although Dolores pulled within 11 points several times throughout the fourth quarter and trailed 44-33 with about three minutes left, the Bears were never able to get closer before the final buzzer sounded.
Sophomore Kevin Purkat scored five points and Neil Farias and Dakota Smith both scored four for Dolores.
The Bears traveled to Ridgway on Jan. 11 and lost 45-44 before returning to Dolores on Jan. 12 and losing a heartbreaker to Telluride, 47-45.
“We need to work on consistency,” Swagerty said. “We start getting in slumps and then we have to dig ourselves out the rest of the game.”
