Los Lunas boys win district tournament

 

District tournaments were held for prep basketball last week, and a couple of county teams had good runs.

The Los Lunas boys team took care of business, winning in both the semifinals and finals to take the District 5-5A Tournament Championship to go

along with their regular season championship.

The Tigers got by Capital Wednesday night by a final of 62-46. Jamian Perez had 21 points, while Jalin Holland scored 17 points and had 11 rebounds.

Perez torched Santa Fe for 35 points en route to a 74-60 victory in the tournament final on Friday night.

Perez also added some excitement right before halftime. Following a Santa Fe 3-point basket that made the score 34-28, Perez received the in-bound pass and heaved a three-quarter court shot that went in as time expired to close the gap to 34-31 at the break.

The Valencia Lady Jaguars made the District 5-4A Tournament Championship Game that was held on Friday night at Highland.

The Lady Jaguars got there by defeating Belen in the quarterfinals, 61-24. They then won a thriller against St. Pius in the semifinal, winning 27-25, as St. Pius’ game-winning 3-point shot missed as the game concluded.

In the final against Highland, Valencia had a late flurry of scoring, but would still fall by a final of 54-50.

The Belen boys would get to the semifinals of the District 5-4A tournament last week.

The Eagles opened the tournament with a 61-43 victory over Grants. Luis Garcia scored 25 points for Belen.

Then came the semifinals on Thursday night at St. Pius. Despite having a 32-30 lead late in regulation, the Eagles missed several free throws down the stretch, and allowed St. Pius to tie it and send it to overtime.

The Eagles were outscored 13-4 in overtime, and lost by a final of 46-37 to end their tournament run.

The Belen Lady Eagles lost in the opening round of the District 5-4A Tournament. Belen fell to Valencia for the third time this season — this one a 61-24 final. That loss brings an end to the season for the Belen Lady Eagles, who finish with a final record of 1-25.

The Los Lunas Lady Tigers also saw their season come to an end last week.

After winning their opening game of the District 5-5A Tournament by a 51-15 final over Rio Grande, Los Lunas visited Santa Fe on Wednesday night for the semifinal of the tournament.

That trip did not go according to plan as the Lady Tigers were defeated by a final of 53-18.

The Lady Tigers end their season with 9-18 overall record, but did finish third in district play with a 6-4 record.

The Valencia Jaguars boys team also saw an end to their season, after losing to St. Pius in the opening round of the District 5-4A Tournament.

Despite being tied with St. Pius, 20-20, at halftime, the Jaguars offense struggled in the second half, and fell by a final of 60-43.

The Valencia boys end their first season under Coach Hathoot with a 6-20 record, after playing the fourth toughest schedule in Class 4A.