Ledes from the Land of Enchantment

Capital hangs tough against bigger, stronger Cavemen | Sports

What happened: The pesky undersized Jaguars, who only have two players over 6ft, challenged a Cavemen squad on Friday that starts no one under 6-0. Capital led at the end of the first three quarters at Edward A. Ortiz Memorial High School – 13-10 after one, 23-22 at the half and 35-34 heading into the fourth – and even led 44-42 heading into the latter 3 minutes. The Cavemen got back-to-back buckets 6-7 after Tylen Gonzalez and two free throws from Damian Perez to give them a 48-44 lead with 8.4 seconds left.

Top player: Anthony Alvez had 13 points to lead the Jaguars while four players had six each. Gonzalez led all scorers with 14 points while Perez and Xavier Rueda had 12 each.

What’s next: Capital (9-7) has a home game against Albuquerque Rio Grande in District 5-5A.

Santa Fe Prep 51, Gateway Christian, 38

What happened: The Blue Griffins got off to a hot start, scoring the first 11 points of the game and then finding themselves in a 13-point consolation semifinal of Santa Rosa’s Lion Classic. Teams were headed into the second half with 23 players when Prep head coach Joe Vigil finally found a way to wake up his team.

“We ramped up our press and put more pressure on them,” Vigil said. “We have a couple of simple buckets, and it got us going. I would like to see more of that.”

The Blue Griffins built a 38-30 lead going into fourth and continued from there.

Top player: Malachi Prevatt led the Blue Griffins with 14 points, Meehan Henighan added 12 and Finn Coles had 10.

What’s next: Prep (7-5) plays Tucumcari for fifth place in tournament Saturday.

Raton 41, Santa Fe Prep 15

Pojoaque Valley 54, Santa Fe Prep 10

What happened: Prep played his second doubleheader in a week as the three teams made up lost games when the Santa Fe Indian School canceled their tournament this weekend. The Blue Griffins were 22-7 at halftime against the Lady Tigers and 27-13 heading into the fourth before beating the rest of the morning game at Prep Gym 14-2. In the evening’s matchup, the Elkettes were in charge from the start.

Prep head coach Anika Amon said the Blue Griffins were hurt by poor passing on the halfcourt and slow transition defense.

“We have to be smart and not give the ball away,” said Amon. “And then we have to be more effective defensively. Some girls just don’t have the game experience.”

Top player: Pojoaque let Jazmine Valdez score a game high with 20 points while Tonni Aquino added 15. Against Raton, Prep let Anna Knight score nine points.

What’s next: Prep (3-5) canceled his Jan. 17 game against McCurdy, so his next contest is Jan. 21 at Navajo Prep. Pojoaque (8-7) plays Raton at home on Saturday at 6 p.m

Comments are closed.