Santa Fe High’s boys basketball team suffered a 49-45 Thursday night loss

The visiting Albuquerque High boys took care of business quickly by racing to a 18-2 lead after one quarter, and 28-14 at halftime, in what became a 49-45 win over Santa Fe High in District 5-5A play Thursday night.

It became closer in the third quarter when the Demons (5-2) outscored the Bulldogs, 13-5, to trim the gap to 33-27, and in the final eight minutes the deficit was 44-42 with one minute remaining, and it stayed that close before the final buzzer as Albuquerque evened its overall record at 3-3. its district mark at 3-3, and was the first district loss in five starts for Santa Fe High, who in the previous contest at Albuquerque High, won handily, 59-44.

Santa Fe High rallied behind senior guards Cruz Martinez and Cody Garcia, who tossed in 13 and 12 points, respectively, while the Bulldogs received the game-high 20 points from junior Austin Perez that included a trio of 3s. Saturday, the Demons are home to undefeated Los Lunas (5-0), while the same day as Pecos at district rival Texico in the doubleheader closer that follows the girls game.

Meanwhile, the Panthers (4-1) on Thursday hit the road to previously unbeaten district foe Santa Rosa (5-1) and freshman Joshua Gonzales converted a pair of free throws with four seconds left for an exciting 63-61 Pecos triumph in the district opener for both schools.

The 2A Monte del Sol boys had won their first four starts before losing, 52-47, at 4A Pojoaque Valley Thursday night. The Dragons led early and were on top 32-20 at halftime, but the lead shrunk after three quarters, and the Elks put together a 23-9 run over the final eight minutes for the comeback win that put them at 2-3 overall.

Academy of Technology and The Classics won for the first time in five starts via the 61-35 score over Santa Fe’s Tierra Encantada at the Christian Life court Thursday. with Tierra Encantada dropping to 0-3.