No. 1 Magdalena stays undefeated, advances
Mora, Lordsburg, Mesilla Valley win
RIO RANCHO — The No. 1 seed Magdalena Steers remained unbeaten as they defeated Escalante 57-42 in the quarterfinals of the Class 2A boys basketball tournament at the Santa Ana Star Center.
The Steers (29-0) will face Mesilla Valley in today’s semifinals at 3 p.m., also at the Star Center.
In 2015, Magdalena went 31-0 while winning the Class 2A title.
Lordsburg will meet Mora in today’s 6:30 p.m. semifinal. No. 1 MAGDALENA 57, No. 8
ESCALANTE 42: The Steers got 17 points and nine boards from senior Anthony Pino.
Junior Richie Chavez contributed 12 points, six boards and four steals for Magdalena. Junior Jorrell Mirabal added 13 points and three assists.
The Lobos (18-12) were led in scoring by junior Cody Russom with 20. No. 3 MORA 66, No. 6
MENAUL 58: Seniors Travis Romero and Santiago Laumbach each scored 16 points as the Rangers (23-6) advanced with a victory over the Panthers (23-7).
Menaul junior Michael Ou scored 26 points and was 10-for12 from the field. He also had 14 rebounds and blocked four shots.
Mora, which scored 20 points off 13 Menaul turnovers, led by 18 with 5:02 to go.
The Rangers lost to Melrose in last years 2A title game. They are looking for their first state title since beating Pecos in 2005 for the 2A crown. No. 2 LORDSBURG 78, No.
7 JAL 39: The Mavericks (27-2) made 12 of 25 3-point attempts to overwhelm the Panthers (17-10).
Senior Jacob Esquivel was 5-of-8 from 3-point range and scored 26 points for Lordsburg, which went up 24-3 in the first quarter. He also had six rebounds.
Mavericks senior Johnny Plowman scored 14 points with five steals and three assists.
Seniors Jonathan Hammons and Donovan Artalejo had 11 points each for Jal.
Lordsburg is trying to win its first state boys basketball title since winning the 1974 Class 2A title.
No. 5 MESILLA VALLEY 66, No. 4 FORT SUMNER/HOUSE 53: The SonBlazers (22-8) got 20 points from sophomore Josh Castillo as they eliminated the Foxes.
Fort Sumner/House led by six with 5:32 left in the half. But Mesilla Valley scored 42 second-half points to advance.
The SonBlazers won the 3A title in 2015.
The Foxes, who were outscored 34-22 in the paint, got 15 points from sophomore Noah Maxwell.