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Horsemen display balanced attack, with junior guard Jevon Montoya leading nine teammates with 13 points
By Arnie Leshin
Nothing like a good district victory. For St. Michael’s boy’s basketball, it was just that.
Now at 8-12, the Horsemen, losing overall record and all, are now 2-1 in District 2-4A after taking to the road and turning back Pojoaque Valley, 64-46.
It’s not a district that looks like a state contender, but for St. Michael’s it doesn’t matter at this point. Its mission now is to compete for the district championship and get a berth in the state tournament.
This fit in with it district’s opening victory at Las Vegas Robertson. Two days later, the Horsemen lost at home in two overtimes against Taos.
Wednesday night, the Tigers visited West Las Vegas in a clash of the two teams with winning records in district, and the Dons prevailed, 56-51 to become 2-0 in district and 11-9 overall, while Taos dropped to 11-10 and 2-1. Then there’s Robertson, usually up there at the top, at 5-14 overall and 0-3 in district.
So that leaves St. Michael’s and Pojoaque, and the Horsemen moved right into the district race by playing smart, making shots, hustling for loose balls, and in complete control of the contest.
They got away quickly, with six players scoring in the first quarter and bringing a 18-13 lead that became 35-24 at halftime. Then came a run in the third quarter that upped the margin to 54-34 heading into the final quarter, The Elks had a 12-10 scoring edge in the final eight minutes, but were out of it by than.
“These games are important for us,” said first-year St. Michael’s head coach Dave Rodriguez. “It’s district time, with a lot of basketball to be played, but it always goes by quickly, so we have to be ready every night and be sharp.”
It was good balanced scoring for the Horsemen, with junior guard Jevon Montoya tossing in a game-high 13 points, senior wing Antonio Gabaldon scoring 11, and senior forward Lincoln Barker adding 10. Every St. Michael’s players scored.
It was in the second quarter that St. Michael’s increased its lead to 11 points, and after three quarters, the Elks (6-12, 0-2) trailed by 20. Each time they tried to go on a run, the visitors always had an answer.
The Horsemen have a non district game Friday night at home against Albuquerque Sandia Prep (8-11), and return to district play on Friday night, also at home versus West Las Vegas, and right now it’s for first place.
West Las Vegas led 17-14 after one quarter, had a 30-26 lead at the half, and held off a final run by Taos after entering the fourth quarter with a 44-35 advantage. Steven Sandoval and John Balizan had the team high with 12 points each. Quinn Moon of the Tigers had the game-high 15 points.
