After another big week of basketball headlined by the Northern Rio Grande Tournament, local teams are heading into the final few tune-up games before the heady rush of district play and they start vying for potential state tournament slots.
Jan. 5
Boys
Escalante 59, Cuba 34
RJ Atencio scored 14 points and Damien Baeza added 10 to spark the visiting Lobos (10-3) offensively, and they turned in a stellar defensive outing, limiting the Rams to 22.4% shooting while snagging 18 steals and 26 forced turnovers. Richard Glover turned in 10 rebounds and swatted four shots.
Jan. 6
Dulce 67, Coronado 57
Jan. 8
Mora 46, Dulce 36
A three-game winning streak for the Hawks (6-3) came to an end in the opener of the Northern Rio Grande Tournament at Española Valley High School, even though they jumped out to a 6-0 lead. But an 11-0 Rangers’ run in the second quarter turned the game in their favor.
Santa Fe 56, Pojoaque Valley 45
Andres Treviso scored 15 points and Joziah Salazar added 11 for the host Elks (4-9) against the Demons.
Piedra Vista 44, Española Valley 40
Mesa Vista 57, McCurdy 30
Jan. 9
Peñasco 64, Dulce 51
The Hawks (6-4) could not contain the Panthers’ offense, which shot better than 50% percent from the field, including hitting 8 of 15 on 3-pointers to gradually pull away.
McCurdy 45, Questa 33
Miyamura 45, Española Valley 38
Jan. 10
Pojoaque Valley 64, Shiprock 50
Joziah Salazar had 18 points and seven steals, while Trevor Rivera added 12 points and Joshua Gonzales six steals to power the host Elks (5-9), who hit 10 of 19 3-pointers, past the Chieftains.
Cobre 64, Coronado 33
The host Leopards (4-8) trailed 20-10 entering the second quarter and 32-18 at halftime as the Indians shot almost 60% inside the 3-point arc.
Peñasco 40, McCurdy 34
The Bobcats (4-8) fell 18-6 in the first quarter and could never recover against the Panthers in the final game of the NRG tournament.
Española Valley 65, Thoreau 35
Dulce 64, Questa 54
Girls
Jan. 6
Pojoaque Valley 39, Robertson 31
The visiting Elkettes (10-4) built a large 24-5 halftime lead, then had to hold off a Lady Cardinals rally that brought Robertson within six points in the fourth quarter.
Dulce 61, Coronado 40
Emma Martinez-Pierce had 18 points, seven rebounds and seven steals for the visiting Lady Hawks (7-1), and Amari Castleberry added 14 points and eight steals, with Anya Rivas contributing a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds in the win over the Lady Leopards (5-6).
Jan. 8
Española Valley 34, West Las Vegas 24
The visiting Lady Sundevils (6-7) put together consecutive wins with a strong defensive outing, limiting the Lady Dons to 12 points each half.
Questa 48, Dulce 42
Despite 13 points from Amari Castleberry, and 17 rebounds combined from Mattison Vigil and Anya Rivas, the Lady Hawks (7-2) fell to the Lady Wildcats in the opener of the Northern Rio Grande Tournament.
McCurdy 65, Peñasco 61
Despite giving up 35 points to Lady Panthers’ star Rochelle Lopez, the Lady Bobcats (8-2) were able to hang on for a win in the opener of the NRG tournament.
Mesa Vista 59, Escalante 34
The Lady Lobos (3-7) fell behind 19-6 in the first quarter of the NRG opening game and could not recover.
Jan. 9
Dulce 52, Escalante 38
The Lady Hawks (8-2) jumped out to a 20-8 first quarter lead and never struggled thereafter against the Lady Lobos (3-8) behind Amari Castleberry’s 18 points and 12 steals, while Emma Martinez-Pierce added 14 points. Mattison Vigil also chipped nine points, seven rebounds and five steals for Dulce in NRG second round.
Mora 48, McCurdy 43
The Lady Bobcats (8-3) had a 28-22 lead over the Rangerettes, but a bid to reach the NRG championship game came up just short as Mora had a 18-8 third-quarter advantage.
Pojoaque Valley 32, Santa Fe 31
Jan. 10
Peñasco 40, Dulce 28
The Lady Hawks (8-3) could not get untracked in the first quarter of the NRG final round, falling behind 12-1, losing to the Lady Panthers for the second time in a month, with only Emma Martinez-Pierce reaching double figures with 12.
McCurdy 35, Questa 33
It was a tight fourth quarter as the Lady Bobcats (9-3) entered it trailing 25-24 before rallying for the win in the NRG final game.