Roundup: Bloomfield topples West Las Vegas.

The West Las Vegas Dons were used to playing big teams, but sometimes experience isn’t enough.

Bloomfield’s 6-foot-6 post Jaime Duhon caused fits in the paint, and it helped the Bobcats pull out a 51-48 win in the semifinals of the Albuquerque Hope Christian Tournament on Friday afternoon. Bloomfield takes on the host Huskies for the tournament title, while the Dons will get a sneak peek at a District 2-4A foe in Taos, which lost 81-70 to Hope Christian in the other semifinal, in the thirdplace game.

Bloomfield’s defense was on display in the final 30 seconds of the game, as they forced three missed shots by West Las Vegas (9-8) in that stretch. That included a pair of missed 3-point attempts in the final seconds to hold on for the win.

“We played our best in a lot of senses [Friday],” Dons head coach Clyde Sanchez said. “We just couldn’t get the offense going. You got to give credit to the defensive side, though. Sometimes, when you’re not scoring, it’s not so much that you’re missing shots as much as they were playing really good defense.”

It seemed that the Bobcats (5-11) played their best defense to close out both halves. Bloomfield held West Las Vegas to nine points in the second quarter to build a 28-24 lead at the half. The Dons rebounded in the third quarter to take a 38-37 lead into the fourth, but the Bobcats were strong again over the final 8 minutes.

Bryce Betoni led Bloomfield with 20 points, while Duhon had 16 points while forcing the Dons away from the paint. John Balizan led West Las Vegas with 13 points, and Jared Saiz added 10.

The Dons turns it focus to the Tigers, then to the actual part of their district schedule starting on Jan. 19 against Las Vegas Robertson.

The Lynx outscored the Dragons 14-8 in the fourth quarter to break up a 42-all tie and advance to the fifth-place game of the Lion Classic in Santa Rosa. Monte del Sol built a 26-22 lead at the half, but Rehoboth (8-6) outscored the Dragons 20-16 in the third quarter to force the tie.

Kevin Henry led the Lynx with 14 points, while Jacob Olguin added 12. Santi Archuleta had 20 points for Monte del Sol (9-6), but no other player reached double figures. Isaiah Salazar had nine points.

Outside of a 15-point second quarter the Rattlers scored, the Panthers’ defense was almost air-tight. Tucumcari scored no more than eight points in any of the other three quarters of a nondistrict game in Louis G. Sanchez Memorial Gymnasium.

The Panthers (13-2) led 19-8 after a quarter, 46-23 at the half and 65-31 entering the fourth. Carlos Cordova led the way with 20 points, and Xavier Padilla scored 16. Josh DeHerrera and Mario Archuleta each had 10. Tim Reid led Tucumcari (7-9) with 20 points.

Pecos has one more nondistrict game before heading into 3-3A play, but it’s a big one — the Panthers travel to Estancia to play the 11-0 Bears on Jan. 16.

The Eagles rolled out to a 38-2 lead at the half of a nondistrict game in Farmington. The young Wildcats (0-12) were led by Oliver Elsbrock’s three points.