Tigers boys take care of business against Moriarty
The Taos Tigers took care of business against the Moriarty Pintos on Monday (Jan. 31). For a team that hasn’t played since Jan. 15, Taos didn’t appear to lose a step. The Tigers jumped in front 8-0 in the opening two minutes.
Herman Archibeque stopped the bleeding with a two-point field goal, but then the Tigers went on a 6-0 run to make it 14-2. Archibeque sank another two points to cut the lead by 10, 4-14.
The Tigers were simply dominant in the first quarter, outsourcing the Pintos by 13. They extended the lead in the second quarter to 18, 31-13. The Pintos found a bit of life in the final minutes of the second quarter to give them a conceivable shot at a comeback in the second half. A 3-pointer from Cade Griego jump started Moriarty’s offense and defense as they started to swarm the ball and jump out quickly in transition. Kenneth Poyner put a considerable amount of English on one of his layup attempts to beat the Tigers defense, making it 21-34. Just before the buzzer Archibeque hit a contested off-the-dribble jumper to make it 23-36.
The Pintos could not keep up the pace in the second half, as they were outscored 32-13.
Anthony Padilla scored two quick layups on the Tigers first two offensive possessions. This forced Moriarty into a timeout. The very next score for the Tigers
was another Padilla layup. Padilla finished the night with 26 points.
You can tell a game has been put to bed once Isiah Jeantete starts launching three-pointers without executing offensive plays for the team. Several players from the end of the bench got their chance to get some playing time in the fourth quarter as well. Even in a blowout win the Tigers get hype whenever Robert Gerson (aka “Robbie”) touches the floor. The crowd almost lost it when Mateo Chavez attempted a three pointer that was just short.
The starting five got some valuable rest before playing Pojoaque Valley the next day.