Mora hangs on in Raton, Questa hosts Tourney and McCurdy does work in the Tularosa Tourney
By C.W. Martin
Week 3: 2A District 5 Hoops
December 11th - December 16th
Monday, December 11th
Questa, New Mexico
Springer Red Devils - 60
Questa Wildcats - 36
Questa played their first home game of the 2023-2024 season on Monday. The Wildcats got out to a slow start scoring 11 in the first half. In Springer, the Wildcats faced a team that was 2-4 coming into the game but was well tested with a tough early schedule at the Cowbell Tournament. The Red Devils got out to a large lead in the first half and hung on from there. Questa fared better in the second half scoring 25 points.
Questa was led in scoring by Forward Antonio Romero with 12 points. Dominic Vallejos and Noah Rael each added 7 points for the Wildcats.
The Wildcats had a busy weekend to look forward to after the Springer game, hosting the inaugural Questa “Wildcat Winter Jam” tournament.
Tuesday, December 12th
Raton, New Mexico
Mora Rangers - 57
Raton Tigers - 56
On Tuesday night, it was Snowin' on Raton as Townes Van Zandt would sing, but the snow came in the form of baskets from the Mora Rangers. When seeing both teams during pregame warmup, it was apparent Mora was outsized in the match up against the 3A Raton Tigers, but when you have a coach like Manuel Romero, that doesn’t always matter.
The Tigers led after the first quarter, 20-19. It was easy to see Mora would be able to keep up with Raton on points. The Rangers got another outstanding game from their Senior Guard, Lincoln Alcon, who scored 16 in the first half and finished the game with 22 points. Despite the size disadvantage, Mora won the rebounding battle in the first half. By the 5:19 mark in the second quarter, Mora had jumped out to a seven-point lead. By halftime, the Rangers continued to hold onto their lead, 32-27.
In the third quarter, Mora continued to hold onto the lead, extending it to 10 points by the one-minute mark, when Derik Duran hit a big three pointer. Duran played a big game for the Rangers, scoring 15 points, including 3 or 6 from three-point range. Jeremiah Pacheco added 6 points and 6 rebounds to lead Mora in the paint.
Throughout the fourth quarter, the Tigers continued to chip away at Mora’s lead, a basket here, a basket there. Then Mora’s Derik Duran hit another 3 pointer with 3:55 left in the fourth to extend Mora’s lead back to 9 points. Duran also made a steal with 2:00 left on the defensive end. The Tigers were never out of it, fighting back with several three-point shots of their own from Junior, Wyatt Berry. Berry hit a three with 1:23 left in the fourth quarter to bring the lead down to four. The two teams each added another basket before Raton’s Berry hit another three pointer with only four seconds left in the fourth. The Rangers were able to inbound the ball and hold on for the impressive early season win over a good Raton Tigers team.
Mora improved to 2-1 on the season. The Rangers play their next game on Thursday, December 21st on the road in Maxwell, against the Bears. Maxwell finished 23-5 and second in Class A District 5 last year which included a first-round appearance in the state championship tourney.
Mora Rangers at Raton Tigers - Game Highlights
Tuesday, December 12th
Albuquerque, New Mexico
McCurdy Bobcats - 74
Cottonwood Classical Prep Coyotes - 63
Another big win for the Bobcats to start the season off 2-0. McCurdy made the trip to Albuquerque to take on the 3A Coyotes, who came into the game with a 2-5 record on the season. McCurdy had a thirteen-point lead after the first half, 38-25. The Coyotes played well in the second half, outscoring McCurdy 38-36. The Bobcats hung onto a 47-39 lead, with three minutes to go in the third.
In their first two games, the Bobcats have averaged 83.5 points per game. Those are numbers. McCurdy’s standout Junior Guard, Ryan Montoya scored 28 points for the second game in a row to start the season. Montoya pulled down seven rebounds, had three steals and two blocks. He also hit four of seven three pointers against the Coyotes. “We’re definitely looking for Ryan to have a big season,” Coach Ernesto Espinoza said when asked about Montoya. The Bobcats got big scoring games out of Guards, Lucas Martinez who scored 16 points, and Judah Duran who scored 11 points.
Thursday, December 14th
Tularosa, New Mexico
Tularosa Tournament
Lordsburg Mavericks - 40
McCurdy Bobcats - 75
In their first game of the Tularosa Tournament versus fellow 2A team, the Lordsburg Mavericks, the Bobcats picked up where they left off from the big win over Cottonwood Prep. This was my first chance to see McCurdy play this year. They did not disappoint.
The Bobcats were in control throughout, leading by 23-7 at the end of the first quarter. Lordsburg was a team that finished with a 16-11 record last season and made a first-round appearance in the state tournament. The Bobcats were led with a huge game from Lucas Martinez, with 28 points, including 4 of 7 from three.
Lordsburg Mavericks vs McCurdy Bobcats - Game Highlights
Thursday, December 14th
Mescalero, New Mexico
Mescalero Holiday Classic Tournament
Quemado Eagles - 46
Escalante Lobos - 59
No information available about this game.
Friday, December 15th
Tularosa, New Mexico
Tularosa Tournament
Santa Rosa Lions - 83
McCurdy Bobcats - 67
The Bobcats second game at the Tularosa tournament was fellow 2A team, Santa Rosa. The Lions finished third in District 6, with a 20-10 record and an appearance in the second round of the state tournament last season. The Bobcats hung in early against a bigger Santa Rosa team, leading 17-14 after the first quarter.
By the end of the second quarter, the Lions had begun their run, leading 41-33 at halftime. Senior AJ Romo, Sophomore Josh Cordova and Senior Jykub Gage all played well for Santa Rosa.
The Santa Rosa Lions are a 2A team to keep on your radar towards the end of the season. They are a solid team.
Friday, December 15th
Questa, New Mexico
Questa Wildcat Winter Jam Tournament
Legacy Academy (Albuquerque) - 66
Questa Wildcats - 27
The Wildcats suffered a few injuries in this game that allowed them to give minutes to players from their Junior Varsity team for the next two games of the tournament.
Friday, December 15th
Mescalero, New Mexico
Mescalero Holiday Classic Tournament
Mescalero Apache Chiefs - 51
Escalante Lobos - 52
No information available from this game.
Saturday, December 16th
Questa, New Mexico
Questa Wildcat Winter Jam Tournament
Centennial Rams (San Luis, CO) - 37
Questa Wildcats - 26
No information available from this game.
Saturday, December 16th
Tularosa, New Mexico
Tularosa Tournament
Ruidoso Warriors - 81
McCurdy Bobcats - 72
The Bobcats played their third and final game of the Tularosa Tournament on Saturday versus 3A team, the Ruidoso Warriors. McCurdy led 42-34 at the half. The Bobcats cooled off in the second half, scoring just 12 in the third quarter. The Warriors got an outstanding game from Guard, Logan Sandoval, who led the way for Ruidoso with 29 points. Center, Augustine Saiz had a double-double with 19 points, 11 rebounds for the Warriors, also.
McCurdy has several big games this upcoming week to finish the 2023 calendar year. They will host the Santa Rosa Lions on Tuesday, December 19th. The Bobcats lost to the Lions on Friday at the Tularosa Tournament. McCurdy will then host defending 2A state champions, Pecos Panthers, on Thursday, December 21st. I hope the livestream at McCurdy is back up for this game. Should be a good one.
Saturday, December 16th
Questa, New Mexico
Questa Wildcat Winter Jam Tournament
Taos Tigers - 69
Questa Wildcats - 19
No information available from this game.
The Questa Wildcats play one more game before the Christmas break, hosting the Coronado Leopards on Thursday, December 21st. The Wildcats won the opening game of the season in Gallina, beating the Leopards, 33-31.
Saturday, December 16th
Mescalero, New Mexico
Mescalero Holiday Classic Tournament (Championship Game)
Fort Sumner/House - 74
Escalante Lobos - 61
Fort Sumner/House came into this game with a 5-1 record on the season. They are the defending Class A State Champions.
No information available from this game.
The Escalante Lobos will play one more game, on Saturday, December 23rd, in Albuquerque against the fellow 2A team, Native American Community Academy, before the Christmas break.
Saturday, December 16th
Clayton, New Mexico
Penasco Panthers - 48
Clayton Yellowjackets - 52
Reports are that Panthers Forward Demarcus Lopez was in foul trouble early Clayton was up eleven in the fourth quarter before the Panthers made a run. There was a dispute over the score keeping in this game in the fourth quarter. Penasco’s Coach Tim Pacheco said, “...they gave them our two – we would have been down one, instead it was down five. We fought – they added ours and never took the other side off.” You gotta love the little quirks of high school basketball. Let this show as an example of the need for a livestream in every gymnasium possible.
Penasco finishes the week with a 2-3 record on the season. They play only one more game before Christmas, on Friday, December 22nd, on the road against a pretty good Santa Rosa Lions team. They have their work cut out for them.
Saturday, December 16th
Cuba, New Mexico
Mesa Vista Trojans - 81
Cuba Rams - 56
No information available from this game.
The Mesa Vista Trojans will play one more game before Christmas, Tuesday, December 19th, on the road in Dulce to take on the Hawks.
As always, any notifications of any mistakes or needed corrections are very welcomed at cwmartinsports@gmail.com.
For more coverage of 2A District 5 and other Class 2A teams, as well as teams from around the area throughout the season, including recaps and game highlights, please visit, cwmartinsports.blogspot.com and youtube.com/@CWMartinSports.
All footage and photos come courtesy of nfhsnetwork.com and krtnradio.com.
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