The North avenged last years’s loss to the South that had snapped a six-game winning streak with a come-from-behind 65-61 victory in the Class A-AA All-Star game July 31 at the Pit in Albuquerque.
The North came out strong in the first half and scored the game’s first six points. Dulce’s Anastacio Valdez gave the North its biggest lead of the game 28-14 by scoring six unanswered points on three crowd-pleasing drives. However, the South came back behind Elida’s Wesley Gilmore, Hagerman’s Bill Squire and Texico’s Daniel Schueler to close to within six points by halftime.
Leading 32 -26 to start the second half, the North extended its lead to 39-28 after a basket by Ramah’s Joe Jordan,
The South rallied and took its first lead of the game 42-41 after a basket by Gilmore with 12:40 left in the game. Gilmore finished as the game’s leading scorer with 15 points.
The way North coach Clarence Vigil, of Peñasco, stalked around the sideline shouting instructions to his players, you would have thought his Panthers were playing for a state championship in the Pit in Albuquerque, rather than a group of All-Stars playing an exhibition..
“The kids worked hard this week and they wanted it,” Vigil said.
At one point, Vigil even called a time out.
“We had a defensive breakdown, “ Vigil said. “I told the guys defense is going to win the game.”
The North took back the lead moments later on a basket by Peñasco’s Anthony Archuleta that made the score 44-42. After the South tied it back up at 44-44, a free throw by Dulce’s Ryan Panzy gave the lead back to the North. Escalante’s Sergio Cano followed with a pair of driving layups that gave the North a 49-44 lead. Cano finished with seven points.
“We all told each other to go out and get’m and we took it to them,” Cano said.
The South came back to tie the game at 53-53, but Cimarron’s Brandon Whitten nailed a big three-pointer from the right corner that brought cheers from the North fans and gave his team a 56-53 lead.
With 43 seconds left in the game and his team trailing 62-59, Texico’s Courtland Luscomb went to the free-throw line with a chance to tie the game after being fouled beyond the three-point line.
Luscomb made just two of his three free-throw attempts, leaving the South trailing by one apoint.
On the ensuing possession, the North broke the South’s full-court press and found Mora’s Johnathon Garcia open under the basket for two points and a 64-61 North lead.
Valdez added a free throw with 14.5 seconds left to play that gave the North a 65-61 lead. The South missed a three-pointer at the end of the game, and the North held on for the victory.
Valdez finished the game with 13 points and was the only North player to score in double figures. Squire finished with 12 points for the South, while Shueler tallied 11.
“We had faith and knew it was going to be a fight,” he said. “We still had our confidence.”
Panzy scored seven points and said his team came together.
“It was a great experience,” he said. “A bunch of guys doing something we love.”
Vigil said the best thing about the victory was the kids played as a team.
“They passed the ball, found the open man and helped out on defense,” he said. “In just one week it’s hard to get kids to do that and it was an honor to coach them.”