Tough loss on road for Santa Fe High boy’s basketball Saturday night as Albuquerque Manzano prevailed 55-47 in District 2-6A

Santa Fe Indian School dominated at first-place Bernalillo with 67-36 setback in District 5-4A, and Pecos rolled over Laguna Acoma,70-36, in a non district game

By Arnie Leshin 

Not only did visiting Santa Fe High drop Saturday night’s District 2-6A boy’s basketball game to Albuquerque Manzano, but it was a setback that also put a dent on its run in the standings.

The Monarchs (10-8) climbed into a tie for third place by handing the Demons (10-10) a 55-47 setback to put both at 2-2 in district. And below them are Albuquerque Sandia at 1-4 and Clovis at 0-4 and in the basement following the Saturday 39-38 Matador squeaker at home.

And it doesn’t any easier for Santa Fe High. Its next stop is a home game Tuesday night against first place Albuquerque Eldorado, which ran its overall record to 14-2 with Saturday’s 76-66 non district win over Albuquerque Highland.

As for the Demons, a win would have settled them in behind Eldorado and second place La Cueva, but now it will take a better shooting game to stay in contention for a quality seed in the district tournament.

Not only did they have to put up with the Monarchs size that that stood tall behind 6-foo7 senior Eric Sonnerberg, 6-4 junior Jack Blankenship and 6-3 junior Tyler Allen, but the home team also had a consistent scorer in 6-foot senior Erick Campillo-Terranos.

Campillo-Terranos had the game-high 22 points and this came via some key baskets that included six 3s and 4-of-4 free throws. Whenever his team needed a clutch shot, he showed up. It was his basket to start the second half and break a 22-22 halftime tie.

Early in the fourth quarter, he halted a 7-0 Santa Fe High run with a 3 from the corner, and Manzano continued from there to keep the Demons at bay.

The Santa Fe High shooting was dismal. It shot only 32 percent from the floor and converted only 11-of-18 foul shots. Most of it came against the tall defense, with Sonnerberg tough inside, and on offense he scored 15 of his 20 points in the second half that had the Demons connect on only 8-of-25 attempts in the final two quarters.

In a 1-6A game, Piedra Vista turned back Rio Rancho Cleveland, 51-44. In a 5-4A contest at first place Bernalillo, the Spartans (21-1) dominated Santa Fe Indian School, 67-36, to drop the Braves to 9-11 overall and 0-3 in district, while Bernalillo won its fifth in a row in district.

In a non district game at Laguna-Acoma, Pecos advanced to 17-3 with its 14th straight victory coming with the help of a 40-18 first half lead and the team high of 19 points from senior Mario Archuleta and 16 from fellow senior Carlos Cordova.

In 2-5A, first place Espanola Valley (18-1) had no problem disposing of Los Alamos, 87-63, on the road. The Sundevils are 3-0 in district, the Hilltoppers are 0-3 in district and 9-12 overall.

In 2-4A, Taos (12-10) upped its district record to 3-1 by downing visiting Las Vegas Robertson, 79-60, to put the Cardinals at 6-14 overall and 0-3 in district.

In 2-3A, Santa Fe Prep rolled over visiting Questa, 69-28 to advance to 7-6 overall by building a 24-2 first quarter lead that increased to 38-13 at the half. Also in 2-3A, it was Monte del Sol turning back Dulce, 62-46, to move to 13-7 overall and 1-0 in district.

In 3-3A, Raton (6-11) overwhelmed visiting Academy of Technology and The Classics, 78-46, and is now 1-2 in district while the Phoenix dropped to 7-12 overall and 1-2 in district.