Boys basketball

What happened: The Panthers made the free throw they needed in the final seconds of Prep’s home opener Monday in the Prep Gym. The same could not be said for the Blue Griffins. Panthers guard Kevin Vigil Jr. hit a free throw with 8 seconds left, but Prep forward Owen Putnam missed both of his with 2.1 seconds left to let the visitors escape. It was a disappointing end for the Blue Griffins, who rallied from a 56-45 deficit in the fourth to take a 61-59 lead with less than 3 minutes left. Head coach Joe Vigil said a 15-for-37 night at the free-throw line was damaging. “I told the boys when you’re 15-for-37, you own those misses,” Vigil said. “You all contributed [to the loss] with that.”

Top players: Lawrence Ragland led Pecos with 15 points, while Vigil Jr. scored 14. Joshua Gonzales and Xavier Valencia each added 11. Prep had Mitchell Grover score 21 points, Van Anderson had 17 and Kieran Belyeu had 10.

What’s next: Prep (1-1) plays at Bernalillo on Thursday. Pecos (2-0) takes on Albuquerque Cottonwood Classical Prep in the first round of Capital’s Al Armendariz Tournament the same day.

What happened: The Elks helped first-year head coach Ryan Cordova get his first win with the program by adjusting their defense to take away Bloomfield’s perimeter shooting. The Bobcats hit a pair to end the first quarter to take a 15-13 lead, but Pojoaque rallied to take a 31-26 lead at the half. Bloomfield never got closer than five points of the Elks the rest of the way. “Being able to hit shots when it matters really helped,” Cordova said. “And getting to the [free-throw] line late in the game was kinda crucial.”

Top players: Daniel and Jordan Lopez each had 14 points to lead the Elks, and Joziah Salazar added 10. Seraphin Mendez grabbed 11 rebounds.

What’s next: Pojoaque (1-1) heads to Gallup on Tuesday.