Pecos overpowers Tucumcari for win

The run will continue to Rio Rancho for the Pecos boys basketball team. A 23-13 run in the second quarter gave Class 3A’s top seed enough of a cushion to pull away for a 72-46 win over Tucumcari in the opening round Saturday night of State Basketball Tournament in Louis G. Sanchez Memorial Gymnasium.

The Panthers (26-1) won their 26th straight game and will play No. 8 Eunice at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Rio Rancho High School in the 3A quarterfinals.

The Rattlers (8-17) had the pace to their liking and trailed by only 10-6 after a quarter, but keeping the Panthers’ bottled up has been a struggle for most opponents. Pecos blew the lid off on the pace in the second quarter to take a 33-19 lead into the locker room.

A 22-16 scoring advantage for the Panthers in the third upped the margin to 55-35 heading into the fourth.

Mario Archuleta led the Panthers with 24 points, while Carlos Cordova added 21. Zedric Henderson-Green led Tucumcari with 12 points and Timothy Ried added 11.

SANTA FE HIGH 15, ESPAÑOLA VALLEY 1

SANTA FE HIGH 13, ESPAÑOLA VALLEY 0

The Demons swept the Sundevils in Saturday’s nondistrict home games.

Santa Fe brought in 15 runs on 11 hits in the first game, while starting pitcher Jacob Romero recorded five strikeouts before giving way to James Catanach, who had three.

In game 2, sophomore Manny Martinez pitched himself a perfect game in 5 innings, with six strikeouts on 51 pitches. Izaiah Apodaca led Santa Fe High with a 3-for-3 performance at the plate with a home run. Alan Schmidt also batted 3-for-3 and had a double.

The Demons are off to a 3-0 start. They travel to the southeast corner of the state Thursday for the Carlsbad Invitational.