Local High School Basketball Wraps Up District Play

  • Junior point guard, Tristin Fernandez, 5, drives it in for a bucket against district rival St. Pius at a recent home game. The Pirates (12-13, 3-4) are aiming for a third place showing in the powerful 4A district 5. They are between the number one team in the state, St. Pius, and the 6th ranked team in the state, the Highland Hornets. The Lady Pirates are currently 10-15, 3-5 and both teams will play the last game of the regular season on Tuesday, February 18. Franklin Romero - CC
    Junior point guard, Tristin Fernandez, 5, drives it in for a bucket against district rival St. Pius at a recent home game. The Pirates (12-13, 3-4) are aiming for a third place showing in the powerful 4A district 5. They are between the number one team in the state, St. Pius, and the 6th ranked team in the state, the Highland Hornets. The Lady Pirates are currently 10-15, 3-5 and both teams will play the last game of the regular season on Tuesday, February 18. Franklin Romero - CC

    “Now, it's time to finish strong and secure a spot in the state tournament,” said Grants High School head boys’ basketball coach Landon Chavez on the last district game against the Belen Eagles on Tuesday, April 18. “A win tonight will lock up a third place in the district.”

    The Pirates who have had a memorable season are still very much in the hunt for a seat at the state basketball tournament.

    The Pirates are currently ranked 14th in the most recent maxreps.com 4A rankings. They are also third in district 5-4A just behind the number one team in the state, the St. Pius Spartans at 19-5, 7-0 and the sixth ranked Highland Hornets at 1212, 3-3.

    Most recently they lost to Highland by a score of 73-60.

    Highland went on a 23-4 lead in the first quarter and never looked back, though the Pirates battled back in the second and third quarters.

    “Highland was a tough matchup, especially on the road,” said Chavez. “They play exceptionally well at home—and with it being their senior night– they came out to compete.”

    The Hornets were led by their standout guard, Jesus Licon, who scored 30 points on the Pirates that night. Licon had only recently been back on the line up after nursing an injury. The Pirates were led by point guard Tristin Fernandez with 15 points followed by Uriah Gill and John “JJ” Horacek with 12 points apiece.

    Chavez concluded by saying, “We have been battle tested and I believe those experiences have prepared us for this moment.”

    The Lady Pirates also complete their district play as they travel to Belen (7-17, 0-6) currently they are 10-15, 2-5 and fourth in the district behind St. Pius, Valencia and Highland.

    Laguna Acoma Hawks

    The Lady Hawks are 17-7, 7-1 and currently number one in district 12A. They are ranked ninth in the state for 2A. They are on a 5-game winning streak and will play Ramah (8-15, 2-6) at home on the 18th of February and finish up district play with Dulce (8-16, 35) on the road on February 20th.

    The Laguna-Acoma boys basketball team is 10-24, 5-3 and will play Ramah (6-18, 2-6) in a district game on Tuesday, February 18. Their last game of district play will be on February 20 against Dulce (12-11, 6-2) on the road. Currently they are third in district 1-2A.