Saturday, November 29, 2008

LLHS boys, Jaguars move at the speed of varsity

Tigers show depth in Valencia's debut

Jason W. Brooks News-Bulletin Staff Writer; jbrooks@news-bulletin.com

Tomé Valencia's boys basketball players will get plenty of firsthand lessons about the speed of competition in their first year at the varsity level. Not all of their lessons will come in the form of losses to quality Class 5A cross-town rivals by 35 points.

The Los Lunas Tigers administered that lesson, using their veteran, athletic lineup to down the host Jaguars 83-48 Tuesday in Valencia's first varsity game. The Tiger squad with 11 seniors easily wore down and outlasted the Jaguars, whose lineup is all underclassmen except for one junior.

Though the teams traded baskets for much of the first quarter, the 5A Tigers started to build a double-digit lead, aided by an 11-0 run overlapping the first and second periods. The 4A Jaguars beat the Los Lunas press at times, but turned the ball over too often, and the Tiger fast break was too much for the hosts.

"They pressed us the whole game, and this was our first taste of a heated environment," said VHS coach Dominick Romero. "The guys made a lot of people proud. They fought, they played hard, and I thought they represented us well."

Orey Feerer hit a 3-pointer that gave Valencia (0-1) an 11-10 first-quarter lead, but Tiger senior Max Walter hit one of his five treys in the game to counter it. That gave Los Lunas the lead for good, as LLHS (1-0) would go up by as many as 15 points in the first half.

The Tigers would lead by as many as 37 late in the fourth quarter, invoking the 35-point running clock briefly per the mercy rule.

Walter had 26 points to lead all scorers, while teammates Spenser Waquie had 24 and Jerrell Warner had 18. Waquie made 10 of his 12 free throw attempts, but the rest of the Tigers shot a rancid 2-of-12 from the charity stripe.

The Jaguars struggled even more at the foul line, sinking only five of 19 shots. Valencia also struggled in its transition offense and in its outlet and entry passing.

Curtis Peralta led the Jaguars with nine points.

"This was a good eye opener for us," said Romero. "This really showed us the speed of varsity competition."

Though his team won easily, LLHS coach Albert Aragon knows his team triumphed largely with athleticism and depth. He expected more production from the post position, and wants his players to make better decisions.

"We dictated the tempo, and that's a positive," said Aragon. "But we have to make better decisions on offense and in transition, and to communicate better and to be more organized on defense."

Aragon, the Tigers' fifth-year coach, said there are many positives about the Jaguars.

"They're scrappy, and they play hard to the end, and they;re going to be just fine in District (5-4A)," he said. "And next year, they'll be a challenge for us."

Tuesday's game was the only scheduled meeting this season between the Tigers and Jaguars. The LLHS and Valencia girls teams played Monday night, with Los Lunas winning 47-19.

Both boys teams are idle until next week. The Tigers travel to Gallup on Tuesday, while the Jaguars head to Capital High on Wednesday. Both games are at approximately 7 p.m.

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