Horsemen falter in second half, lose to Belen

All the things the St. Michael’s Horsemen did well in the first half were what they didn’t do after the break.

The Horsemen took care of the ball, rebounded well and played tough defense against Belen for the first 16 minutes in the opening round of the Clovis Invitational on Thursday afternoon. All of that changed in the second half, and the Eagles rallied from a 25-18 deficit to down St. Michael’s 52-48.

The Horsemen play Carlsbad in a consolation semifinal at 9:30 a.m. Friday in Rock Staubus Gymnasium.

A 17-12 scoring run in the second quarter padded an 8-6 St. Michael’s lead to a sevenpoint margin, but it was the high point of the game. The Eagles cut the lead to 34-31 heading into the fourth quarter and outscored the Horsemen 21-14 over the final 8 minutes.

“We had a great first half,” Horsemen head coach David Rodriguez said. “After that, we kinda of lost our confidence and our aggressiveness and started throwing the ball away. But that’s one of the best teams in the state in Class 5A we played.”

Antonio Gabaldon led St. Michael’s (5-5) with 15 points, and Thomas Wood added eight. Ryan Garcia had 15 points for Belen (7-3) and Garrett Gallegos added 14.

ESPAÑOLA VALLEY 57, LAS CRUCES OÑATE 56

The Sundevils advanced to the championship game of the Jalene Berger Allstate Holiday Hoops Classic, thanks to Ryan Trujillo’s layup with 6 seconds left.

The Knights had a chance to steal the win back, but a runner from 5 feet at the buzzer missed. The Sundevils led for most of the game after falling behind 13-8 after a quarter. They outscored Oñate 22-10 in the second quarter for a 30-23 lead, but the Knights cut the margin to 47-44 heading into the fourth quarter.

“I’m not taking anything away from my guys, because they played really hard and with a lot of heart,” Española head coach James Branch said. “But the ball has to bounce favorably for us, and it did [Thursday].”

Trujillo, Zack Mascarenas and Azaziah Salazar each had 12 points to lead Española, and Mascarenas had a 3-pointer and a four-point play during the second-quarter run. The Knights were led by Tony Avalos with 15 points.

WEST LAS VEGAS 72, MORIARTY 58

The Dons used a 9-2 run to close the third quarter of an opening-round game of the Stu Clark Tournament in the John A. Wilson Complex at New Mexico Highland University and take a 54-46 lead over the Pintos that was never challenged.

West Las Vegas get a big test in the semifinals with a matchup against Bernalillo, the topranked team in 4A according to the latest New Mexico Overtime SportCenter coaches poll, at 6 p.m.

John Balizan exploded in the second half for 19 of his team-high 30 points, with 13 coming in the third quarter to hold off the Pintos, who got within 45-44 midway though the quarter. Steven Sandoval added nine points for the Dons.

Marvin Encinias led Moriarty (6-3) with 19 points, and Matthew Soto added 16.

LAS VEGAS ROBERTSON 69, TAOS 60

The Cardinals rallied from a 36-31 halftime deficit, outscoring the Tigers 20-12 in the third quarter to take a 51-46 lead and hold on for an opening-round win of the Stu Clark Tournament. Robertson (3-7) plays Albuquerque Del Norte in a semifinal at 7:30 p.m.

Cardinals wing Arjay Ortiz had 15 of his 26 points after the half, with nine coming in the third. Emiliano Berged had 16 and Charlie Hillis added 13 for Robertson. Taos (4-5) hit seven 3-pointers in the first half, but only one the rest of the way. Husam Kehweis led Taos with 11 points, while Quinn Moon and Derek Chacon each had 10.

LOS LUNAS 66, SANTA FE HIGH 30

The Demonettes (4-7) were within 29-18 at the half of the opening round of the Los Lunas Holiday Tournament, but managed just 12 points the rest of the way to fall into the consolation semifinals.

The Lady Tigers, the No. 1 team in 5A, outscored Santa Fe High 22-8 in the third quarter to pad their margin to 51-26. The Demonettes only managed four free throws from Adonica Baca-Martinez in the fourth quarter. BacaMartinez had a team-high 15 points, and Taylor Salazar added nine.

Dani Ross led a balanced scoring attack for Los Lunas (9-1) with 12 points, while Marissa Weldon and Amber Trujillo each added 10.

LAS VEGAS ROBERTSON 48, FARWELL (TEXAS) 22

The Lady Cardinals were without senior post Angelica Montoya as she recovers from a sprained ankle suffered late in last week’s 51-39 win over Albuquerque Hope Christian, so the bench filled in where it could in the opening round of the Citizens Bank Invitational in Texico.

Gabby Trujillo battled through an illness to score five points, grab a pair of rebounds and even block a shot in limited action. Eighth grader Jayden Jenkins moved up from the junior varsity and recorded four points and three rebounds. Savannah Sanchez had four points, three boards and a blocked shot. It pretty much made up for what Montoya brings to the court.

“This was the first time all year where we had bench production from everyone,” Robertson head coach Leroy Barela said.

Alianza Darley had 19 points to lead the Lady Cardinals (8-1), who held Farwell (12-7) scoreless in the second quarter to take an 18-9 lead. She also had eight rebounds and four steals. Maria Barela added 12 points, three assists and four steals.

Robertson plays Eunice in a semifinal at 3:45 p.m. Friday.