Horsemen’s 17-2 run secures second place in district
St. Michael’s 46 W. Las Vegas 35
The St. Michael’s Horsemen grew up on Friday night. Needing a win to secure second place in the District 2-4A standings, St. Michael’s used a 17-2 run that was decisive in a 46-35 win over West Las Vegas in Gillie Lopez Gymnasium. The Horsemen (12-14 overall, 5-3 in 2-4A) will play host to the 2-4A semifinal on Feb. 22.
The Dons rallied from an 11-9 firstquarter deficit to take a 17-16 lead late in the second quarter before St. Michael’s scored 10 straight points to take a 26-17 lead at the half. The margin grew to 33-19 midway through the third before West Las Vegas (13-13, 4-4) finally got its offense clicking again.
“We took away their penetration and their 3-point threats,” St. Michael’s head coach David Rodriguez said. “John Balizan shoots the ball well, and we denied him the ball. We shut down the driving lanes and those misses turned into outlets for us.”
The Dons chipped away to within 42-35 before the Horsemen scored the last four points over the final 1:25 to seal the win. St. Michael’s hit 7 of 10 free throws in the fourth quarter and went 13-for-21 for the game. Jevon Montoya led the Horsemen with 16 points and he hit three 3-pointers. Connor Glatz had nine points, with seven coming in the first half.
Steven Sandoval led West Las Vegas with 10 points, and Balizan had seven of his nine in the fourth quarter.
DULCE 72, MONTE DEL SOL 61
The Dragons have to run the table in the 2-3A tournament if they want to keep their postseason hopes alive after the Hawks beat them at Christian Life Academy. It will be a rematch between the two teams in the opening round of the tournament, with Dulce playing host.
Dulce (11-14, 2-4) jumped out to a 20-9 lead and Monte del Sol was in chase mode the rest of the night. The Hawks led 44-35 at the half before extending it to 62-48 heading into the fourth.
It didn’t help that the Dragons (13-13, 1-5) were without senior forward Carlos Ruvalcaba, who was out with a back injury. Monte del Sol already played the last half of the season without Alec Lopez after he broke his arm in December and Stephen Herrera missed the first half of the year with a knee injury.
“The injury gods have not been good to us,” Dragons head coach Alfredo Lujan said.
Justin Phone led Dulce with 18 points, Tyreek Redwine added 13, Scott Chavez scored 12 and Dashaun Gonzales 11. Peter Lujan led Monte del Sol with 16 points, Stephen Herrera had 14, Jaime Terrazas scored 11 and Isaiah Salazar chipped in with 10.
GIRLS LOS ALAMOS 45, CAPITAL 38
The Lady Jaguars might have lost their 2-5A finale, but they ended up in second place, thanks to Española Valley’s 37-35 win over Albuquerque Del Norte.
Capital (13-13, 5-3) will play host to the district semifinal next week.
That will give the Lady Jaguars time to refine some areas they have struggled with down the stretch.
“I think we are going to get back to the basics and get the girls to refocus and let them know that we still have a chance to do something,” Capital head coach Darren Casados said. “It’s been a great year. We’ve won 13 games, so we’ve done something.”
The Lady Hilltoppers (5-20, 1-7) built a 12-2 lead, only to see the Lady Jaguars take a 22-21 halftime lead. The moment didn’t last long, as Los Alamos took a 33-29 lead into the fourth.
Becca Green led the Lady Hilltoppers with 18 points, while Natalie Gallegos added 13. Heaven Arciniega paced the Jaguars with 12 points, and Ishara Sorensen added 11.