Holland brilliant for Los Lunas in huge home victory
Tigers star goes for 41 in win over Santa Fe
LOS LUNAS – The entire spectrum of the Jalin Holland Experience was on full display Friday night.
You want 3-pointers? We got you covered.
Looking for some fine midrange action? Plenty of that.
Body control around the rim and tough finishes near the basket? Always.
Add up all elements of Holland’s evening, and you arrive at 41 points, and the 10th-ranked Los Lunas Tigers needed every bit of Holland’s talents and contributions in a tense 58-57 District 5-5A victory over visiting, No. 8-ranked Santa Fe.
“He was incredible tonight,” Los Lunas coach Travis Julian said of Holland. “Incredible.”
The 6-foot-5 junior didn’t establish a season high in points, but his 41 couldn’t have come at a better time as Los Lunas (11-7, 2-0 in 5-5A) earned its most important victory of the season to date.
He had 18 points before halftime, 23 after half, and it was by and large an excellent shooting performance.
“Whatever comes is whatever comes,” the soft-spoken Holland said, and he rarely if ever speaks glowingly of himself, even on a night like this.
It wasn’t as though Santa Fe (13-5, 0-2) didn’t try its best to run interference for Holland.
Just about every Demon who took the court seemed to take a turn defending Holland throughout the 32 minutes. Santa Fe clearly was intent on sending fresh legs at Holland, giving him as many different looks as it could. None of it mattered. Holland in the first half scored 18 straight points for his team. There was an early 3 for the Tigers, and one before halftime; Holland scored all the points in the middle, including three 3-pointers of his own.
Shots from distance from Holland and Rex Kinsey tied the game at 24 at halftime.
The Tigers also scored the first eight of the third quarter, including three-point plays by Holland and Kinsey. Los Lunas eventually stretched out to a 10-point lead at 42-32 late in the third quarter.
But Santa Fe regrouped, rallied and tied the game with 6½ minutes left on Lukas Turner’s three-point play.
But at 45-45, Holland found space underneath the basket and completed a three-point play for a 48-45 edge. The Tigers did not surrender the lead again.
The Demons had the ball in their hands at the end, down 58-55. A 3-point try was short. It was rebounded and put back to make it a one-point game, but Santa Fe was out of timeouts and the clock ran out on the Demons.
“It’s just the second game of district, but it felt like a mustwin,” Julian said. “It was a huge game for us.”
And Holland delivered in a big way.
“When he’s like that,” Julian said, “you just let him go. … He’s just such a dominant player, at times, you just have to let him do his thing and stay out of his way.”