No. 1 Jayton Boys Fly Past Irion County Into Regional Final

WINTERS, TX — The Irion County boys basketball team was able to stay within striking distance of heavily favored Jayton in the first half of Tuesday’s regional semifinal playoff game.

Then the Jaybirds showed why they’ve been the No. 1-ranked team in the state in Class 1A all season.

Jayton quickly turned a nine-point halftime advantage into a 24-point lead late in the third quarter, and the Jaybirds rolled from there to a 68-44 win over the unranked Hornets.

Jayton is now three wins away from repeating as state champs and backing up the state title it won during football season.

Jayton (25-2) will play Benjamin in the regional final later this week at a site and time to be determined.

Irion County’s season ended with a record of 26-7.

“They’re the No. 1 team in the state for a reason,” Irion County head coach Shae Sanford said. “I’m proud of the way we battled early. They they just kind of hit a run on us there in the third, and it got away from us a little bit.”

Irion County was within 25-19 and had the ball in the final seconds of the first half, but Jayton sophomore Dayton Bleiker stole the ball and hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the Jaybirds into halftime with a 28-19 lead.

Jayton was led by junior Sean Stanaland, who had 26 points, five rebounds, five steals and two assists.

Junior Colt Gentry had 16 points, eight rebounds and two steals, and senior Ayden Salazar had 12 points and three steals.

Irion County senior Robert Sanford had a game-high 27 points. He hit six 3-pointers and had nine rebounds, two steals and two assists.

"I was really happy with us for the most part," Jayton head coach Ryan Bleiker said. "I thought we had some defensive breakdowns I was not happy with, but I thought we cleaned those up a lot in the second half. And then Sanford just hit. Even when he hit shots, there was a hand in his face and they were fully contested. If that happens, you just tip your hat and say man, good job."

It was the 16th win in a row for Jayton, which has lost only twice all season. Both defeats were against 4A opponents, Lubbock Cooper-Liberty (60-56) and No. 5 Lubbock Estacado (88-59).

The Jaybirds have spent every week of the season ranked No. 1 as the defending champs. Bleiker said the group has handled the pressure well.

"If there's a group that can do it, it's ours," Bleiker said. "They're probably the most mentally strong group I've ever had. Not to say that they're perfect, but this type of stuff doesn't really get to them. Even when they're down and maybe not playing well, they refocus and come out and always go on a run and do what they need to do."

Irion County's first-year head coach said he was proud of what his team accomplished to reach the regional semifinals.

The Hornets overcame a 4-2 start to district play by winning eight straight games to rally back and win the title. They then won two playoff games before running into the top-ranked team in the state.

"These guys grew up a lot this year," Sanford said. "Not many of these kids had actually been in the fire before, so it was really enjoyable for me as a coach to see them step up and actually get to play in a game like this, because if you've made it to this point and you're playing the No.  team in the state, you're doing something right."