SantaFeToday.com Santa Fe’s Hometown News
By Arnie Leshin
It was a losing cause for visiting Santa Fe High as Los Lunas took over first place in District 5-5A with a quick start and maintained it via a 48-35 final Tuesday night in boy’s basketball.
The Tigers upped their overall record to 19-4 and 6-1 in district by cotrolling the Demons’ offense and dominating its defense with their inside strength led by sophomore forward Jalin Holland’s 21 points, half of which came in the paint.
It was the second time Los Lunas downed Santa Fe High, the last time at the Toby Roybal Memorial court but by only a 58-54 score.
As for the Demons, they fell to 14-9 overall and 5-2 in the district. Outsized underneath, they settled for jump shots. And it took the visitors 3:30before scoring in the second quarter.
When Santa Fe High senior forward Owen Lock finally tossed in a 3, it trimmed the Tigers’ lead to 19-13, but what followed was a 10-2 spurt by the home side, which led 15-10 after one quarter and 29-15 at halftime.
After the intermission, the Demons managed to hang around 20-19 over the last two quarters, but could never close the gap.
Capital also fell by the wayside in at 49-39 district defeat at Albuquerque High. This one was close for three quarters with the teams tied 8-8 after the first quarter, 17-all at the half, the Bulldogs edging ahead 32-31 after three, and then outscoring the Jaguars, 15-8, in the last eight minutes.
Capital dropped to 12-10 overall and 1-6 in district. Albuquerque High improved to 6-17 overall and 2-5 in the district.
In 2-2A at the Genoveva Chavez Community Center, Monte del Sol Charter made it over .500 overall at 12-11 by handling turning away visiting Albuquerque Native American Community, 64-29.
The Dragons opened up a huge lead with a 16-2 first quarter and upped it to 37-8 at halftime. Already a rout, it was 62-20 after three, and with the reserves getting plenty of time, MDSC settled for a pair of fourth-quarter points to drop NACA to 2-17 overall.
In girl’s 2-3A basketball, visiting West Las Vegas handed Raton its 13th straight loss with a close 59-56 triumph. The Dons are now 12-11 overall and 3-4 in district, while the Tigers fell to 6-16 and 0-13 in district.
At the Genoveva Chavez Community Center, it was another loss for Monte Del Sol Charter, 50-10, to Albuquerque Native American Community Academy and it dropped to 1-19 overall and 1-6 in district.
The lone win for the Dragons was a Jan. 24 forfeit over Tierra Encantada. NACA led 15-2 after one quarter, 29-6, at the intermission, and held Monte del Sol scoreless in the fourth quarter.
