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Eagles third in Hub City Tourney; LLHS girls remain unbeaten
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The host Belen boys basketball team finished third in the Hub City Tournament, while the Los Lunas girls remained undefeated, blowing away the competition.
Boys basketball
With victories over Valley, 67-33, and Roswell Goddard, 65-50, BHS (5-3) has made noticeable progress since the first game of the season.
“We go hard on defense, we go hard on offense,” said Donald Marquez, Belen coach, which was evident throughout the tournament.
The Eagles started with the blowout victory over Valley, a team that BHS lost to 10 days earlier. Even a setback in the semifinals to Organ Mountain, 73-59, showed positive signs.
“I was actually excited how we played against them. It was a lot closer than that score showed,” Marquez noted.
After trailing Goddard 9-1 to start the third-place contest, pressure defense and timely three-point shooting carried the Eagles to a comfortable 15-point win.
“When we’re moving and running and catching in rhythm that’s when we shoot our best,” said Marquez about the turnovers that led to open looks.
The Eagles knocked down 10 three-pointers. Junior guard Pablo Aguilar had four treys with a team high 12 points.
“We just wanted to get on them aggressively, try to get the ball away from them and start to get our points up,” Aguilar said.
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Las Cruces defeated Organ Mountain for the Hub City title. On Thursday, the Eagles play at Albuquerque Academy.
Los Lunas (4-6) went 1-2 in the Cleveland Tournament, posting a victory over Roswell but falling to Cleveland and Santa Fe. Next up for the Tigers, is a Friday visit to Sandia.
Valencia (4-4) split a pair of games last week, defeating Los Alamos and losing to Artesia. The Jaguars are off until Dec. 29 when they start play in the Stu Clark Invitational in Las Vegas against Sandia Prep.
Girls basketball
Despite a rash of injuries and illness, Los Lunas (6-0) has been impressive. It’s not just the record, it’s the margin-of-victory. In their six wins the Tigers have outscored opponents by more than two-to-one, with the average score of 62-30 against teams that include La Cueva, Eldorado and Las Cruces.
The Tigers have adjusted on the fly to the absence of Vayda Golino and Jacelyn Baca, both out with injuries.
“We’ve been happy and pleasantly surprised with the girls stepping up,” said Manny Vigil, LLHS coach.
Defensively it starts with full court pressure. On offense, the inside dominance of Mackenzie Brookins and Kayla Finley, who has averaged a double-double, has opened up play for the guards.
Vigil said the posts “collapse the defenses a lot and then it allows the guards to get open looks.”
Jalexa Ornelas has filled in capably at point guard for Golino, Grace Baca dished double-digit assists the past two games and Sienna Flores has provided clutch shooting.
“The back court is like my best friend,” Finley said, adding that “We put in extra work and are willing to do anything for the team,” which includes adjusting to different positions.
Cibola is up next on Thursday for LLHS in the first round of the Holiday Hoopla in Las Cruces.
Also playing in the Las Cruces tournament is Valencia (7-2), which has been on a roll. The Jaguars extended their winning streak to five games Tuesday with a 58-32 victory over Espanola Valley. That streak included road wins at Deming, Miyamura and Los Alamos.
VHS meets El Paso Andress Thursday in the first round of the Holiday Hoopla.
Belen (3-4) will also be on the road starting Thursday at the Aztec Tournament against Montezuma-Cortez. The Eagles had a tuneup Tuesday at Bernalillo, a 69-46 loss to the unbeaten Spartans (8-0). BHS went 1-2 in the Capital Tournament, falling to Wingate and West Mesa and defeating Capital.
