EARNING THEIR STRIPES
Tigers among four metro-area teams to win district titles
LOS LUNAS — The calendar flipped to March on Friday. Which worked out well for the Los Lunas Tigers.
“We don’t win this game in January,” Tigers boys basketball coach Travis Julian said.
His team’s 66-60 victory on Friday night over visiting Santa Fe in the District 5-5A tournament championship game was an example, Julian said, of how a team begins to find surer footing over the course of a three-month season.
“We’ve matured,” he said. “They’ve come a long way.”
Junior guard Jalin Holland had 34 points for the sixth-ranked Tigers, but as usual, he contributed in other important ways.
Consider one sequence in the second half, where Holland missed two shots from very close range. He rebounded both misses, and finally put home the third.
He also at least three times, with the Santa Fe defense keying on him, dumped off to open teammates for relatively easy baskets.
This helped Los Lunas erase a small (28-25) halftime deficit, a half in which the ninth-ranked Demons (22-7) outshot the the Tigers (19-9) from the perimeter.
“We definitely kicked in on defense more, got out on those shooters who were (connecting) in the first half,” Holland said.
The Tigers are fully expecting a home game in the first round of the Class 5A state tournament a week from Saturday.
“We’re feeling good,” Holland said as the state tournament approaches. “We’re locking in, (we just need to) get our bodies right.”
Lukas Turner led Santa Fe with 27 points. The Demons may also have done enough to earn a home game in the first round of the playoffs; everyone will learn their seed, and their fate, when the postseason brackets are announced about 5 p.m; Sunday. Santa Fe came into Friday ranked ninth by the coaches, but No. 5 by MaxPreps.com; both polls are elements of the criteria that go into the seeding process.
The Demons won the most recent meeting against Los Lunas, in Santa Fe.
“I just think the kids showed a lot of toughness,” Julian said. “Jalin made a few key buckets when we needed them, and we got a few key stops. It was such a grinder.”
Los Lunas’ boys were one of four metro-area teams that won district tournament championships on Friday night.
The Volcano Vista girls captured
the District 1-5A title, beating Rio Rancho 71-44.
The St. Pius girls, at home, downed Valencia 49-44 in the District 5-4A tournament championship game.
And the Sandia Prep girls went to Cuba and upset the top-seeded Rams 44-39 in the 5-3A tournament final.
For the Sartans, Catalina Anaya scored 11 points. St. Pius should be one of the top three seeds when the postseason brackets are announced Sunday.
There were also district tournament semifinals on Friday.
La Cueva’s boys, the 2 seed in 2-5A, downed visiting Farmington 69-64. The Bears, in particular junior guard Cam Dyer, did an excellent job shutting down the Scorpions’ explosive guard, Cody Vassar-Steen, limiting him to 10 points.
La Cueva (19-9) will visit West Mesa at 6 p.m. Saturday in the 2-5A tournament final. The Mustangs beat the Bears 56-53 in a playoff game on Monday.
Farmington’s girls defeated Eldorado 61-43 on Friday in the 2-5A semis, setting up a visit to Albuquerque on Saturday at 6 p.m. to face top-seeded Sandia.
From District 6-4A, Albuquerque Academy went on the road and defeated Hope Christian 79-72 on Friday night. The Chargers will visit No. 1 seed Valley at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Other district tournament finals on tap Saturday include Atrisco Heritage’s boys at Volcano Vista at 2 p.m. in 1-5A; Los Lunas’ girls at Albuquerque High at 4 p.m. in 5-5A; St. Pius’ boys at Highland at 6 p.m. in 5-4A; Hope Christian’s girls at Academy in the 6-4A title game at 3 p.m.; and Sandia Prep’s boys at Bosque School at 5 p.m. in the 5-3A final.