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Top-ranked in 5A, Sundevils passed tough test against the Knights and the Jaguars overcame the Hilltoppers
By Arnie Leshin
As Espanola Valley and Capital High’s boys learned Wednesday night, taking to the road could be a bumpy ride.
They survived, but the District 2-5A games were surprisingly close for the district’s two best teams. At Albuquerque Del Norte, the Sundevils (20-1), currently on top of the 5A chart, sweated out a 77-67 win, something that the Knights (7-13) had done before.
At Los Alamos’ Griffin gymnasium, it was a struggle for Capital (18-4) before it prevailed 64-58 over the 9-13 Hilltoppers.
It was two teams trying to avoid the cellar against two teams that annually control the top of the district.
In dropping Los Alamos to its fourth loss in four district starts, the Jaguars advanced to 3-1 behind a big first half from senior Aaron Garcia. He scored all of his 15 points over the first two quarters, with 11 coming in the opening quarter. Then there was sophomore teammate Antonio T.J. Sanchez turning in the game-high 16 points.
Capital led early, was up 37-27 at halftime, and the Hilltoppers cut the gap to 48-44 at the end of three quarters. The home team kept hanging in there, but the visitors accepted the challenge in order to return home with a W.
For Los Alamos, seniors David Owens and Antonio Trujillo had the team-high 14 points and tossed in four 3s each. Senior Mike Naranjo added a dozen points.
Espanola, 4-0 in district, got its usual tough test against Del Norte, but did pull away to a 20-6 lead after one quarter. But the Knights. 2-2 in district, closed to within 40-34 at halftime by outscoring the visitors 28-20.
Heading into the fourth quarter, the Sundevils stayed in front 54-51, but had to contend with Del Norte until the final minutes when they pulled away. Leading the way was 6-foot-5 senior post Azaziah Salazar.
He was 12-for-12 from the foul line and his team followed along by making 29-of-34 attempts. Salazar also sparked his team’s defense that held off the Knights. He finished with the game-high 19 points.
It was a balanced scoring night for Espanola, with seniors JP Sena and Isaiah Vigil scoring 14 each and fellow senior Christian Fernandez tossing in 13.
Two key district games will be played Friday night. At St. Michael’s, the Horsemen (10-12) will be out to remain tied with Taos and West Las Vegas for first place when they take on Las Vegas Robertson, which is 7-14 overall and 1-3 in district, just ahead of Pojoaque Valley.
In the same district, Taos (12-10) will also be playing to stay in contention for district honors when it heads for Pojoaque (6-14), which is 0-4 in district.
