The 61st annual Northern Rio Grande boys basketball tournament will begin Jan. 7 and conclude Jan. 10 at Pojoaque High School.
One of the longest continuously played tournaments in New Mexico, it will not feature any undefeated teams as it did in 2008, when the Mesa Vista Trojans entered the tournament at 13-0 and received the top seed. The Trojans proved that the top seed was richly deserved by defeating Peñasco 61-50 in the championship game.
Mesa Vista isn’t undefeated this year and is currently 10-3 on the season. The Trojans seem likely to be the top seed again, as the other members of the Northern Rio Grande have struggled so far this season. Seedings will for the eight-team tournament will not be released until Jan. 4.
Mesa Vista returns two starters from last season in Jaime Cruz and Frankie Giron, who are both averaging in double figures in scoring. Estevan Trujillo, Adrian Coronado and Kris Buzzard are the new members of Mesa Vista’s starting five, while Alejandro Lopez and Ramon Trujillo are emerging as key reserves for Trojans coach Thomas Vigil.
Mesa Vista’s top competitor for the tourney crown will likely be Peñasco, which has played in two consecutive Northern championship games, having also lost to Santa Fe Indian School in the 2007 championship. The Panthers are just 6-6 so far this season. The Panthers are led by guard Joseph Gurulé and forward Brandon Gurulé. The Panthers have yet to hit their stride under new coach Joe Gurulé, who replaced former coach Clarence Vigil.
The Escalante Lobos are just 3-7 heading into the tournament, but the Lobos could be a sleeper. Guard J. T. Elwess and forward Devin Montoya lead Escalante, which defeated McCurdy 84-65 Dec. 5. The Lobos have suffered one-point losses to Pecos and Peñasco.
Mora, the 2005 and 2006 Northern champion, has played a rugged schedule that includes losses to two Class AAA teams, Robertson and Pojoaque. The Rangers are just 2-6 so far this season, but have an upset win over West Las Vegas, another Class AAA team, to their credit. They have suffered two losses to Peñasco and one to Mesa Vista this season.
Pecos, the only other team in the Northern field to own a winning record at 6-4, won the Northern title in 2003. Pecos is led by senior guard Tim Baca.
McCurdy, the 2004 Northern champion, is just 3-9 on the season. The Bobcats are led by seniors Isaac Montoya and Kevin Redman. McCurdy has suffered losses to Dulce and Escalante this season.
Dulce won its last Northern title in 2002 and the Hawks have had to rebuild their offense after losing three starters from last year’s team. Jared Pesata and Brian Panzy are the only returning starters for Dulce. The Hawks are also just 2-7 on the season, but do own a victory over McCurdy. The two-time defending District 2AA champions are rebuilding this season under coach Isaac Royston, who returns to that position after a two-year absence. Royston was head coach in 2002 when Dulce won the Northern title.
Coronado is the new team in the field, having been accepted into the Northern field to replace Santa Fe Indian School.
The Braves left of their own accord in 2008 because they had moved up to Class AAA — all of this year’s teams compete in Class AA.
The Leopards are just 2-5 on the season and host Mesa Vista in what used to be a hard-fought rivalry game Saturday in Gallina. Since 2005, the game has been dominated by the Trojans.