Los Lunas
The Los Lunas boys clinched the 2021-22 District 5-5A regular season championship on Tuesday night with a 75-58 victory over the Rio Grande Ravens.
Adam Evarts | News-Bulletin photo
The Los Lunas Tigers pose for a team photo after winning the district championship with a win over Rio Grande.
Jalin Holland led the way with 32 points for the Tigers, who won their ninth straight game as well with the victory.
The Tigers out-scored the Ravens 29-12 in the second quarter to lead 49-24 at halftime.
In the second half, despite a sluggish offensive output, the Tigers were able to cruise to the victory.
That wins comes on the heels of two victories last week.
The first was a 70-62 win at Santa Fe. Ezra Guest led the way with 16 points, while Holland added 15 points.
Then last Friday night, the Tigers defeated Capital by a final of 56-38. Holland once again led the way in scoring with 23 points against the Jaguars.
Adam Evarts | News-Bulletin photo
Los Lunas Tigers player Dominic Griego drives the ball in the game against Capital last week.
Los Lunas is now 17-8 overall and 9-0 in district. They have one more regular season game to go; a road game Friday night against Albuquerque High.
The Los Lunas girls split their two games last week to bring their record to 7-16 overall and 5-3 in district play.
The week started on a sour note, as the Lady Tigers were defeated by Santa Fe, 48-30. The Tigers were within 26-25 in the third quarter before a 22-5 Santa Fe run put LLHS away.
Los Lunas was able to bounce back by beating Capital in overtime on Friday night by a final of 26-25. In that contest the Lady Tigers were able to overcome a 9-2 deficit to rally to victory.
Los Lunas will play twice this week before starting their district tournament next Monday. First up is a home game with Rio Grande, then they will end the week hosting Albuquerque High.
The Lady Tigers can finish no better than third place in their district, and will play either Manzano or Capital in the first round of the district tournament, beginning on Monday.
Valencia
The Valencia High School boys team were finally able to breakthrough for their first district win this season, and followed up a road loss that began the week.
The Jaguars started the week with a road trip to St. Pius, and despite 15 points from Ali Abdullah, Valencia fell by a final of 53-45 to the Sartans.
On Friday night, the Jaguars finally broke through, this one against the Grants Pirates.
In that game, Abdullah had 12 points and 14 rebounds to help Valencia to a 56-51 win in front of the home faithful.
Following those two games last week, the Jaguars are now 6-18 on the season and 1-6 in district play.
Valencia has one more regular season game remaining, before starting district tournament play next Tuesday. On the schedule is a home game on Friday night with Highland.
The Lady Jaguars also split their games last week, which, unfortunately, eliminated them from the district regular season championship contention.
To start the week, Valencia fell at home to St. Pius, 44-40. Azalia Malizia scored 18 points and grabbed five rebounds to lead the way for the Jaguars.
On Friday night, Valencia bounced back with a 59-43 road win over Grants. The Lady Jaguars had three players score in double figures. Jadyn Montoya led the way with 18 points, while Sonja Lopez scored 15 points and Elena Lucero added 12.
Following last week’s games, Valencia is now 15-9 on the season and 5-2 in district play. The Lady Jags will finish up the regular season Friday night by visiting Highland. They will begin district tournament play on Monday.
Belen
It was a quiet week for both the Belen boys and girls teams.
After losses by both teams to Highland last Monday, games that were detailed in last week’s sports section, the rest of the week held no games for either.
The Belen boys will be back in action twice this week. First off is a road game with St. Pius, and then they will end the week with a home game Friday night against Grants.
The Belen boys will start district tournament action next week.
The Belen girls will be in action twice this week as well. They will do the opposite of the boys and host St. Pius to start the week, then they will visit Grants on Friday night.
The Belen girls will begin district tournament play next week as well.
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.
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April 18, 2024
