The Belen High School boys and girls basketball team were blown out on both ends of a doubleheader at Valley High School on Tuesday night. In the girls game which came first, the Eagles fell by a score of 67-32.
The Vikings defense was stifling, only allowing the Eagles to score in double digits in the fourth and final quarter.
In the first, BHS connected on a free throw to make the score 4-1 Valley, but from there the Vikings took over, going on a 12-0 run before Belen was able to make another shot, stretching the margin to 16-1. At the end of the first, VHS led 19-6.
In the second quarter, it was more of the same for the Eagles offensively, although they did a better job defensively, holding Valley to only 11 points this time.
After another quarter limited to only six points, BHS trailed 30-12 at the half.
In the third quarter, Belen still couldn’t find any offensive momentum and fell further behind their hosts as the deficit stretched to nearly 30 points and the Eagles trailed 48-19.
The fourth was Belen’s best quarter offensively as they cracked double digits for the first time with a 13-point performance.
However, BHS was still unable to narrow the deficit as Valley scored 19 of their own to secure a 67-32 win.
In the second half of the double header, it followed a similar script. VHS used potent three point shooting to pace the game offensively and the Eagles couldn’t hit enough shots to keep up, particularly in the first half.
Valley jumped out to a 15-4 lead in the first quarter and forced a Belen timeout.
It changed the momentum enough for the Eagles to score four unanswered to end the first quarter, cutting the deficit to 15-8 heading into the second quarter of play.
The Vikings had the best offensive period of the evening in the second quarter, scoring 22 points to take a commanding lead, stretching the gap to almost 20 points before the half at 37-18.
Belen didn’t have any answers for stopping VHS, who seemed to grab every rebound when a shot didn’t fall and were successful finding the open man on nearly every possession, whipping the ball around the three point line.
The third quarter was nearly the opposite of the second, as neither team seemed able to hit a shot. If the Eagles had been able to get a few more shots to drop, they may have been able to play their way back into the contest.
However, they were limited to only six points, compared to eight for the Vikings. The teams traded buckets for the first time all day, they were just few and far between. At the end of the quarter, Valley led 45-24.
In the fourth, the Eagles finally gained the advantage offensively, but with the game firmly in hand for the Vikings it was too little too late.
The Eagles were able to claw back within 20 points but weren’t able to get the deficit back to single digits.
The shots had finally started to fall and it seemed that Valley may have taken their foot off the gas as well as it committed more turnovers in the fourth than it had earlier in the game.
The BHS boys return to action at 7 p.m. tonight hosting Santa Teresa, while the girls next game is Tuesday when they host Moriarty.
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September 21, 2023
