Gaerlan’s free throws help Los Lunas edge rival Belen

Chavez banks in 3 in Valley’s win

BELEN — Los Lunas’ Nick Gaerlan hit a pair of free throws with 41 seconds left in regulation to help the Tigers boys basketball team escape with a 37-33 road victory over rival Belen on Tuesday night.

Los Lunas (19-4, 4-1 District 5-5A) stands alone in first place, while the Eagles (17-7, 4-2) fall to second place in the league with just 11 days left in the regular season.

“We did it our way,” Los Lunas coach Travis Julian said. “We only scored three points in the fourth quarter, but our kids really played well defensively.”

The Tigers led 25-20 at halftime and 34-29 going into the fourth quarter and appeared to have the advantage going into the final period.

But Los Lunas went without a field goal the entire fourth quarter and Belen was able to cut the Tigers’ advantage down to 34-33, with 4:51 left in regulation.

The Eagles had a chance to tie or take the lead with a 1-and-1 free-throw opportunity with 2:06 to go, but missed the attempt. Belen then fouled to extend the game and sent Gaerlan, who led the Tigers with 10 points, to the line where he iced the game. Darius Haywood also added nine points in the victory.

Belen was paced by Garrett Gallegos’ 10 points.

The Tigers host St. Pius at 7 p.m. Friday night. The Sartans beat Los Lunas 59-57 in Albuquerque a couple of weeks ago.

At Valley, senior guard Anthony Chavez banked in a 3-pointer over multiple defenders at the buzzer as the Vikings stunned the Bulldogs.

“They had three guys on him,” Valley coach Joe Coleman said. “He just rose up, threw it up and banked it in off the glass. It was crazy.”

The Vikings (13-8, 5-2 in 4-6A) completed a district sweep of the Bulldogs (13-8, 4-3) as Chavez led the way with 25 points.

At Del Norte, senior Daniel Flores had a game-high 24 points for the Knights (9-13, 4-2 in 2-5A) in their upset victory over Class 5A’s third-ranked Jaguars (18-5, 3-2).

But it was his younger brother, sophomore David Flores, who hit the shot of the season for Del Norte.

He collected a loose ball near the free-throw line in a tie game as the clock was running out, picked it up “and threw up a miracle and it went in,” Knights coach Jeron McIntosh said.

“We’ve lost a lot of these close games,” McIntosh added. “To finally win one, it’s awesome. It’s great, confidence-wise.”

At West Mesa, the third-ranked Jaguars (19-2, 7-0) trailed entering the fourth quarter, but outscored the Mustangs (14-7, 3-4) 19-8 over the final eight minutes to remain perfect in league play.

Enrique Bibian had 14 points, tops for Atrisco Heritage.

At Sandia Prep, Class 4A’s No. 1-ranked team put together three excellent quarters, then cruised as the Spartans (23-1, 6-0) clinched the District 5-4A regularseason championship with a road win over the secondplace Sundevils (10-13, 4-2) in Albuquerque.

In Las Cruces, the top-ranked Bulldawgs (230, 9-0) clinched the District 3-6A regular-season title.