It now comes down to 2nd-seeded Santa Fe High’s boys

Well, well, the Santa Fe High boys basketball team has lost twice to District 5-5A front-runner Los Lunas and is ranked 7th in the class while the Tigers are at No. 11.

But despite this, it’s a whole new ballgame when the Demons (21-4) hit the road Friday night to Los Lunas to decide the district title and then the final seedings will be announced. In the Wednesday nightsemifinals, it was Santa Fe High disposing of visiting Albuquerque High, 64-43.

The Demons won this one handily behind key baskets from senior guard Carlos Quintana, and the steady play of fellow senior Paul Lovato. The Bulldogs did trim a 43-27 gap after three quarters to 45-35.

But along came Quintana to the rescue at the Toby Roybal memorial court. He helped get his team past the full court pressure applied by Albuquerque High encouraged quick shots. He tossed in a 3-pointer to pave the way and that began a decisive 11-0 run against the 11-14 Bulldogs.

Quintana finished with 13 points that included a pair of 3s, and Lovato had the team-high 18 points.

Why are the Tigers a lower seed after sweeping the regular-season series over Santa Fe High? They do not have a better overall mark then the Demons but won the home and away 58-53 on Jan. 21 and 70-62 on Feb. 8.