Adam Evarts | News-Bulletin photo
Belen’s Elijah Romero sets up the offense against Centennial during the Hub City Tournament.
BELEN — The Hub City Tournament took place last week in Belen with the Santa Fe Demons taking home the championship and the host, Belen Eagles, finishing up in fourth place.
Eight schools battled it out over three days to see who would take home the 2021 Hub City Championship.
The event got under way on Thursday, Dec. 9, with wins by the Eagles over Belen’s junior varsity, 73-30; Valley over Miyamura, 58-50; Centennial over Thoreau by a final of 82-45; and Santa Fe outlasted Mayfield, 56-52.
On Friday in the semifinals bracket, Santa Fe took care of Centennial by a final score of 55-45.
Meanwhile, Belen was ousted from the winner’s bracket by Valley by a 48-32 final score.
After leading Valley 14-11 at the end of the first quarter, Belen was held scoreless in the second quarter due to the Vikings playing keep away without having to worry about a shot clock.
That strategy came in handy in the third quarter as well as Valley hit their shots and Belen didn’t.
In Friday’s consolation bracket action, Miyamura took care of Belen’s junior varsity team, 61-28, while Mayfield blasted Thoreau, 74-19.
On championship Saturday, the Demons needed overtime to get by the Valley Vikings, 45-40 to take home the championship.
Belen lost to Centennial in the third-place game, 35-32, after the game-tying shot was blocked by Centennial as time ran out to preserve the victory.
In the fifth-place game, Mayfield easily got by Miyamura by a final of 68-38, and in the seventh-place contest, Thoreau got by Belen JV, 55-44.
Adam Evarts is a graduate of the University of New Mexico where he studied journalism and history. He has lived in Valencia County most of his life. Adam covers sports for the Valencia County News-Bulletin, including prep competitions for the three local high schools, Senior Olympics, rodeo, Little League and more.
220
April 18, 2024
