Can be tough sometimes on the road as Santa Fe High boys did not have it easy Thursday night in a District 5-5A test at Albuquerque Manzano that brought a 56-49 win for the first place Demons

Santa Fe High and Capital are one-two in District 5-5A boys basketball and the only teams above .500, but taking to the road sometimes can make a difference.

Such was the case Thursday night when the Demons, who had previously rolled over Albuquerque Manzano at home 73-50, had a much tougher go at Manzano, turning back the pesky home team, 56-49, for their ninth straight victory. Overall, they are 19-3 overall and 7-0 in district, a one-game lead over the Jaguars.

And they will meet up with Capital for the fourth time when they visit on Wednesday night with the top spot on the line, and it could even bring a tie that will force a playoff game.

First, Santa Fe High has to again take to the road in traveling to Albuquerque Sandia (6-15, 3-4) Saturday night.

The Jaguars (19-3, 6-1) had a much easier time Thursday night in winning handily over the visitors from Sandia. It was only 12-11 Capital after one quarter, but it turned it up in the next eight minutes and upped the lead to 30-18 at the intermission. From there, the margin grew to 48-33 after three quarters, and the Jags then outscored Sandia 17-9 in the final quarter.

Senior Antonio “TJ” Sanchez lead the way for the Jaguars, turning in 10 first-quarter points and finishing with the game-high 24. Junior Dominic Luna added 15, 10 of which came in the third quarter, and senior Brandon Saiz scored 10.

Saturday, it will be Capital hitting the road in a make-up game at Albuquerque High (8-13, 3-4). Then it welcomes Santa Fe High Wednesday, and heads for Manzano (7-14, 2-3) Friday.

Also in District 5, the Albuquerque High Bulldogs trounced Albuquerque Rio Grande, 60-34 on the road.

In 2-3A, three-time defending state champion Pecos won its      in a row with a mercy-rule 82-30  at Clayton. The Panthers are now 22-1 overall, 4-0 in district, and is home to second place Santa Rosa Saturday. The Lions are 18-6 overall, 3-1 in district, and lost 60-41 to Pecos in the previous contest at home.

Now they own a 4-game win streak after routing Texico, 63-36, to drop Texico to 13-7 overall and 1-3 in district.

As for Clayton, it lost its fifth straight, dropped to 6-15 overall and 0-4 in district.

For Pecos, it was three seniors paving the way as head coach Ira Harge, Jr., didn’t hesitate to call on his bench. But of the starters, Xavier Padilla had the team-high 24 points, Ismael Villegas added 14, and Anthony Armijo tossed in 10.

The Panthers broke away to 28-2 a advantage after one quarter and never looked back in their 17th straight triumph. They shot 22-for-56 from the field, came away with 20 steals, and forced 37 turnovers.

Following the visit from Santa Rosa, the Panthers are at Texico next Friday.

In 2-2A, Tierra Encantada brought its record to 3-13 overall and 1-3 in district by getting past Desert Academy/Santa Fe Waldorf, 51-47, at Christian Life. The two-school mix Wild Wolves fell to 1-17 and 0-5.

Magdalena, the only unbeaten boys team in the state, advanced to 22-0 overall by romping over Albuquerque Menaul on the road, 80-45. Weather conditions twice twice denied the Steers an anticipated match-up at Pecos, and the teams can only meet up now in the state 2A tournament.