The road to the District 2AA boys basketball championship will be determined on the road.

Pecos did its part to steal one on the road Tuesday night in a 55-48 win at Peñasco in a battle of Panthers. Pecos kept itself within shouting distance of 2AA leader Mora, which beat Monte del Sol 73-50, thanks to a strong first quarter in which it took a 14-4 lead.

And the visitors can thank their free-throw shooting down the stretch, as they hit 7 of 9 in the fourth quarter while Peñasco was 4-for-7.

"This is a district where every game is a battle," said Clyde Sanchez, Pecos head coach. "You have to hold serve at home, and the one who doesn't is going to be in trouble."

Pecos jumped out to the double-digit lead on the strength of its defense, which forced several Peñasco turnovers that turned into transition buckets.

The home Panthers chipped away to within 36-30 entering the fourth and got to within two, but Pecos stepped up its defense once again.

"They played pretty good defense in the halfcourt, and so did we," Sanchez said. "We had to press a little bit to get some easy baskets for us late."

Paul CdeBaca's 16 points topped Pecos' scoring ladder, while Darren DeHerrera and Johnny Vigil both had nine. Josh Gurule had 16 points for Peñasco, and Alvin Lujan chipped in with 12.

MORA 73, MONTE DEL SOL 50

The Rangers (20-3, 3-0) were at their best in transition, and it made all the difference in the 2AA game in Sen. Joseph Montoya Gymnasium.

It took the selfless ball-handling of guard Derek Hurtado, who had eight assists, to get the transition game going.

The pesky Dragons wouldn't go away until late in the third quarter as the Rangers grew a 37-24 lead to 57-40.

"They [the Dragons] were shooting the ball well," said James Branch, Mora head coach. "It was just that we finally stayed with our game plan, and I think that wore them down."

Tim Romero benefited from the sharing-is-caring plan with 26 points. Garrick Martinez and Lorenzo Chavez added 13.

Monte del Sol (5-16, 0-2) had Rico Gallegos score 16 points off the bench, but it wasn't enough.

"It was a four- or five-possession game until the last few minutes," Dragons head coach Lucy Lindley said. "We played better. We didn't give up this time."

LOS ALAMOS 65, WEST LAS VEGAS 41

The Hilltoppers take pride in dictating terms, but it was the Dons who made them run in a nondistrict game in Griffith Gymnasium.

It took a 21-7 spurt in the third quarter for Los Alamos (8-13) to get some distance from West Las Vegas by opening up a 46-26 lead.

"I tell the kids I'd rather lose the right way than win the wrong way," said Fil Dominguez, Hilltoppers head coach. "We'll take the win and we needed it, but we let them rush us. We weren't playing our kind of basketball."

Los Alamos had Nick Baker drop 18 points, Thomas Russell added 14 and Bobby Sanders 11. Joe Ortiz had 11 to lead the Dons.