Blue Griffins rally, defeat Pecos in overtime
By The New Mexican |Posted: 2/2/2012, 10:00 PM Mountain time
If doubts still linger about Santa Fe Preparatory, it took a big step toward putting them to rest Thursday night.
The Blue Griffins rallied from a 54-49 deficit in the fourth quarter to force overtime and held off the host Pecos Panthers 77-76 in a key District 2AA win.
Prep (16-4) jumps into second place in the district at 2-1, trailing Mora (3-0) by a game.
The Blue Griffins withstood last-second scares by the Panthers (16-5, 2-2) in regulation and overtime.
Darren DeHerrera had a game-winning 3-pointer rattle in and out at the end of regulation, while Adam Varela had the same thing happen with his triple with the score 77-74 in the finals seconds.
"We had very good looks at them," said Clyde Sanchez, Pecos head coach, of both shots.
The game was marked by wild momentum swings. Prep rebounded from a 20-13 deficit and scored the first seven points of the second quarter on its way to a 35-30 lead at the half. Pecos responded with four 3-pointers in the third for a 54-49 lead entering the fourth.
The Blue Griffins chipped away at the margin and overcame 5-for-11 free-throw shooting in the quarter to tie it at 68 at the end of regulation.
All of their points were scored by the starters, as they all reached double figures.
Joey Lambert had 22 points, Ryan Evaldson added 17, Will Lenfestey and Dan Van Essen each had 14 while D. J. Casados scored 10.
Johnny Vigil led Pecos with 13 points, while Paul CdeBaca, Darren DeHerrera and Adrian Ortiz each scored 11. Brandon Quintana added 10.
NEW MEXICO SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF 54, DESERT ACADEMY 45
The Roadrunners outscored Desert Academy 31-22 in the second half of a nondistrict game in Larson Gymnasium.
Zachary Lee had 17 points, while Andrick Carroll added 11 and Ty Wilding 10.
GIRLS
POJOAQUE VALLEY 54, CAPITAL 39
When everybody scores, every Elkette is happy.
That includes head coach Juan "Pep" Alvarado.
Pojoaque (10-12) had Amber Roybal and Gabby Gonzales tie for high-scoring honors with nine points, while Cheyenne Cordova added eight in a nondistrict game in Edward A. Ortiz Memorial Gymnasium.
"The scoring was pretty well distributed," Alvarado said. "Everybody scored and everybody got to play. I don't want to see one player with 21 points. I like this here."
Capital, which trailed 33-15 at half, had Ashley Sorensen lead all of its scorers with eight points.
MESA VISTA 69, CUBA 68
Turnovers were the name of the game for the Lady Trojans' District 7AA opener at home.
After committing 18 turnovers in the first half, Mesa Vista (13-7) cut that number in half the rest of the way. Its press caused the Lady Rams' fits as the Lady Trojans rallied from a 40-32 halftime deficit.
Mesa Vista went on a 26-18 run in the pivotal fourth quarter before Cuba hit a 3 at the buzzer for the final margin.
"We did prevent turnovers and we created a lot of them in the second half," Richard Montoya said. "And we beat them on the boards."
That was thanks to 24 rebounds from double-double machine Julia Martinez, who had 23 points to boot. Selena Siqueiros added 11 rebounds and 10 points while Brittany Gallegos added 11 boards.
Brandy Valdez had 16 points for Mesa Vista.
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