Sizing up the competition
Pecos, after battles with bigger schools in summer, pulls away in its tournament opener after a sluggish start
The Pecos Panthers aren’t made in December. What they do at this time of the year is just an extension of the time they put in on the basketball court in the summer.
For the past few season, Capital’s Al Armendariz Tournament has been the barometer Pecos uses to determine how it measures up against some of the bigger schools in the state. That rite of passage continued on Thursday, as the Panthers shook off a sluggish 2½ quarters against Kirtland Central to finally hit their stride.
Pecos used an 20-7 run in the second half to take control of its opening round matchup against the Broncos to pull out a 67-54 win. The Panthers will play Española Valley in a 3:30 p.m. semifinal in Edward A. Ortiz Memorial Gymnasium Friday.
The Panthers, a paragon of Class 2A, showed the lessons they learned in playing 4A and 5A schools at a variety of summer camps in Albuquerque and Rio Rancho — chief among them is to show patience and be selfless with the ball.
It helped them hit seven of eight shots during a 5:51 stretch in the third and fourth quarters to turn a 32-30 deficit into a 50-39 lead when Aiden Holten scored on a breakaway layup with 5:35 left in the game.
The stretch was part of a larger 20-minute stretch in which Pecos was able to force 18 turnovers but also committed 11 in the process.
Pecos head coach Arthur Gonzales said the goal of those summer tournaments and playing big-school tournaments is to get his mostly undersized squad to understand it can compete at a high level.
“It’s so these guys don’t freak out playing bigger schools,” Gonzales said. “I always tell them, ‘The guys on the other side, they’re the same age as you. We just got to be smarter about how we play.’ ”
One way Pecos (3-0) showed its maturity was with its perimeter game. The Panthers missed their first eight shots from beyond the 3-point arc before Jodaiah Padilla hit a triple with 1:41 left in the third quarter to break a 34-all tie. It started a stretch in which they hit three of four shots from distance.
Pecos finally showed patience in eschewing decent looks from the perimeter in favor of moving the ball around to find a better shot.
“I think we came out a little excited just wanting it,” Padilla said. “We were just a little too ahead of ourselves, wanting to to do things at too fast a pace. We just needed to find our game and settle down a little bit.”
While Pecos only has one player taller than 6-foot-1, its overall length bothered Kirtland Central (1-5) as it collected 11 steals. That agressiveness has been a staple of a program that won four straight 2A title before losing in the semifinals in a shortened spring season earlier this year.
“It’s all about those drills coach makes us doing during practice,” said junior guard Malik Barrens, who had a team-high 13 points. “Just be aggressive in practice and be aggressive around the basket.”
In other boys games: POJOAQUE VALLEY 66, GRANTS 61 (OT)
The Elks rallied from a 41-35 deficit heading into the fourth quarter by outscoring the Pirates 22-16 in the period. A Grants tip-in at the buzzer forced the extra period, and Pojoaque outscored the Pirates 9-4 in the overtime.
The Elks (3-2) play host Capital at 6:30 p.m.
Derek Sanchez led Pojoaque with 26 points, and Nick Manzanarez added 13.
ESPAÑOLA VALLEY 69, AZTEC 35
The Sundevils jumped out to a 27-4 lead in the second quarter, and never looked back to advance to the tournament semifinals against the Panthers at 2 p.m.
The Tigers took advantage of Española head coach Gabe Martinez’s liberal use of his bench to cut the margin to 38-22 at the half, but it was as close as they got.
Aiden Lee led Aztec (2-6) with 19 points.
CAPITAL 64, TOHATCHI 21
The Jaguars needed a quarter to get their offense in gear. Good thing their defense was a constant against the Cougars, who failed to crack double digits in any quarter.
Eleven of Capital’s 12 players scored, with Anthony Alvez leading the way with 13 points.
In the girls games PECOS 34, CAPITAL 26
The Lady Panthers gained a measure of revenge against the Lady Jaguars, who beat them 43-39 over the weekend. Capital (1-3) managed just six points in the second half after taking a 20-17 lead at the half.
Pecos (3-1) plays Gallup in a 5 p.m. semifinal on Friday.
Savannah Ortiz scored 16 points to lead Pecos, while Annalise Leos had eight points for Capital, which plays Santa Fe Indian School in the consolation bracket.
GALLUP 56, SFIS 19
The Lady Braves were within shouting distance of the reigning 4A champion Lady Bengals — for a quarter. SFIS (7-1) managed just eight points the rest of the game after staying within 17-11 after the first 8 minutes.
Cameron Conners had nine points to lead the Lady Braves. Michaels McCurtain led a trio of double-digit scorers for Gallup (6-1) with 12 points.
HOBBS 67, ESPAÑOLA VALLEY 25
The Lady Eagles got off to a rough start, needing 3 minutes to score their first points. Once Hobbs did, it went about evaporating the Lady Sundevils’ 4-0 lead and never looked back.
The Lady Eagles (2-4) led 15-8 after quarter and 33-18 at the half before scoring 22 points in third quarter to settle the outcome.
Hobbs takes on Navajo Prep, last spring’s 3A champion, at 2 p.m. Friday
Bhrett Clay and Anoyah Joseph each had 15 points to lead the Lady Eagles, while Destinee Trujillo scored seven for Española.
The Lady Sundevils (0-5) take on West Las Vegas in the consolation bracket at 8 a.m.
NAVAJO PREP 65, WEST LAS VEGAS 18
The Lady Dons actually led 9-7 after a quarter before the Lady Eagles stormed back with 20 points in the second for a 28-13 lead. They never looked back as West Las Vegas scored just five points in the second half.
Amber Garcia had 15 points to lead Navajo Prep (5-1), while Jacelyn Morgan had seven points for West Las Vegas (3-4).