LA JARA – The Sierra Grande and Sierra Grande high school boys basketball teams recorded victories in the Class 1A District 6 Tournament semifinal round Friday at the Centauri High School gym to advance to today’s championship game.
The Panthers defeated Moffat 48-43 while the Thunderbirds scored a 47-40 win over Centennial.
Sierra Grande 48, Moffat 43
Ziah Pesqueira scored two layups to give the Cowboys an early 4-0 lead, but Brian Ontiveros made a 3-point basket and Rolando Najera hit a jumper for a 5-4 Panthers lead.
Pesqueira put Moffat back into the lead, but Aron Ojeda scored for Sierra Grande. Noble Cole made one of two free throws to tie the score at 7-7 at the end of the first quarter.
Pesqueira made two free throws to start the second quarter, but Jadyn Martinez split at the line and Carlos Lopez and Martinez both scored for a 12-9 lead. Pesqueira drove for a layup, but Manny Miranda and Martinez both scored for a 16-11 advantage.
Preston Heater made a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to two points, but Ojeda scored again. Pesqueira and Cole both scored to tie the score at 18-18 at the intermission.
Pesqueira made a jumper to again give Moffat the lead at 20-18. But Ojeda scored four points and Ontiveros three for a 25-20 Panthers lead.
Jacob Martinez scored a layup and Tulasi McBride made a three to again deadlock the score at 25-25. But Ojeda buried a trey and Miranda scored in the paint for a 30-25 Sierra Grande lead at the end of the period.
Martinez and Miranda both made threes to open the fourth quarter and Ontiveros made back-to-back layups. Ojeda also scored a layup for a 42-25 advantage.
Pesqueira ended the run with a 3-point basket, but Ojeda and Ontiveros both scored to give Sierra Grande its largest lead at 46-28.
Pesqueira then sparked a Moffat run in which the Cowboys scored the final 13 points of the game only to come up five points short.
Ojeda led Sierra Grande with 17 points, followed by Ontiveros with 12.
Pesqueira led all scorers with 30 points.
Sangre de Cristo 47, Centennial 40
Kolby Shellabarger scored five points and Kaiden Smit four to give the Thunderbirds and early 9-0 lead. Samuel Aguilar put the Rams on the board, but Deagon Rogers drained a 3-point basket for a 12-2 advantage.
Aguilar scored again, but Rogers drove for a layup and added a free throw. Devon Vigil scored for Centennial, but Smit scored again for a 17-6 Sangre lead at the end of the third quarter.
Smit and Shellabarger both scored to increase the lead to 21-6. But Vigil scored again and Martin Navarro-Pacheco made a three to cut the deficit to 23-11. Josh Baker scored for the T-birds, but Navarro-Pacheco made another trey, and Zach Jacquez drove for a layup to reduce the margin to 25-16.
Smit scored again, but Vigil made a 3-pointer and Navarro-Pacheco drove for a layup to bring Centennial within 27-21.
Smit scored another layup, but Jacquez made a three to cut Sangre’s lead to 29-24 at the half.
The teams traded baskets to open the third quarter, but Navarro-Pacheco knocked down a jumper and Vigil made another 3-pointer. Baker hit a jumper but Vigil did the same and Sangre led 37-35 at the end of the period.
Shellabarger opened the fourth quarter with a layup and Rogers made a three and added a free throw for a 43-35 lead. Aguilar made a jumper and after Rogers made two more free throws, Vigil drained another 3-pointer to bring the Rams within 45-40.
Shellabarger and Jaron Mason both made one out of two free throws to end the scoring.
Smit led the Thunderbirds with 16 points, followed by Rogers with 15 and Shellabarger with 11.
Vigil was the Rams’ top scorer with 15 points, followed by Navarro-Pacheco with 10.
Championship is today
Sangre de Cristo (14-6) and Sierra Grande (15-5) will play in the championship game today at 1:30 p.m. Moffat has a record of 13-7 and Centennial is 10-8.
Sierra Grande 48, Moffat 43
Moffat – Pesqueira 9 9-11 30, Cole 1 1-2 3, R. Heater 0 0-0 0, Martinez 1 0-4 2, Morley 0 0-0 0, McBride 1 0-0 3, P. Heater 2 0-0 5, Fontenot 0 0-0 0. Total 14 10-17 43.
3-point goals – Pesqueira 3, P. Heater 1, McBride 1. Total 5.
Sierra Grande – Ontiveros 5 0-0 12, Kester 0 0-0 0, Martinez 3 1-2 8, Najera 1 0-0 2, A. Lopez 0 0-0 0, Mizokami 0 0-0 0, Maes 0 0-0 0, Miranda 3 0-4 7, Ojeda 7 2-2 17, C. Lopez 1 0-0 2. Total 20 3-8 48.
3-point goals – Ontiveros 2, Martinez 1, Miranda 1, Ojeda 1. Total 5.
Moffat 7 11 7 18 – 43
Sierra Grande 7 11 12 18 – 48
Fouls – Moffat 14. Sierra Grande 18.
Sangre de Cristo 47, Centennial 40
Centennial – Jacquez 2 0-0 5, Vigil 6 0-0 15, Molina 1 0-0 2, Aguilera 3 0-0 6, Navarro-Pacheco 4 0-0 10, Gonzalez 1 0-0 2, Sandoval 0 0-0 0. Total 17 0-0 40.
3-point goals – Vigil 3, Navarro-Pacheco 2, Jacquez 1. Total 6.
Sangre de Cristo – Rogers 4 5-5 15, Shellabarger 5 0-0 11, Mason 0 1-2 1, Baker 2 0-0 4, Smit 8 0-3 16, Cantu 0 0-0 0, Arteachavarria 0 0-0 0. Total 19 6-10 47.
3-point goals – Rogers 2, Shellabarger 1. Total 3.
Centennial 6 18 11 5 – 40
Sangre de Cristo 17 12 8 10 – 47
Fouls – Centennial 14, Sangre de Cristo 7.
