“Coming out to a blazing start in the third quarter – we took the lead but we were unable to sustain it,” said Grants High School head coach Landon Chavez of the 4826-point loss to the Magdalena Steers in their first game of the Eddie Pena Holiday Classic. “We had some fast breaks—but were unable to capitalize in transition—-trading baskets never allowed us to come close again.”
The Pirates who were energized from a 70-54 win over Miyamura High School last Friday were a bit slow off the gate in the first quarter with the undefeated Steers as they trailed 15-7 in the at the end of the first quarter. The Pirates rallied and stabilized in the second quarter and matched the Steers scoring as both teams scored 10 points— the score at the half was 25-17.
“Their size inside and poise would give us fits throughout the first two quarters,” said Chavez of that first half.
The third quarter saw a determined and hardworking Pirate team seeking to hand the Steers their first loss as they scored 10 unanswered points early moments to force Steers head coach, Jory Mirabal, to call a timeout as the Pirates took a 27-25 lead. Magdalena came back and scored six points while the Pirates were unable to score more points to make the score 31-27 Magdalena at the end of the third quarter.
The Pirates and Steers battled back and forth in the fourth quarter with the Steers gaining momentum and points to outscore the Pirates 17-9 in that crucial quarter—the final score was 48-36. The Steers shot and made five free throws in that fourth quarter while the Pirates did not have any free throw opportunities. “I am pleased with the effort and look forward to getting on back tomorrow with Miyamura.” said Chavez.
Boudy Melonas led the Pirates in scoring with 12 points followed by Noah Victorino and Ethan Willie with eight apiece.
The Pirates drop to 35 and will replay the Miyamura Patriots (2-6) on Tuesday, December 20 in the second round of the Eddie Pena Holiday Classic.
On the same hardwood is the Grants High School girls Robert Daily Holiday Tournament where the Lady Pirates took a 53-42 win over the Lady Chieftains of Shiprock. The Lady Pirates led at the end of the first quarter by a score of 13-10 and increased their lead to 29-15 at the half. The Lady Chieftains bounced back in the third quarter, but were unable to best the Lady Pirates 14-6 points for a score of 35-29. The fourth quarter, the Pirates scored 18 points and Chieftains 13 points for a final score of 53-42 and a Lady Pirates victory. The Lady Pirates improve to 4-5 and will take on the Lady Hawks of Laguna-Acoma on Tuesday, December 20 in the semi-final game of the tournament.
Cibola County Sports Round-Up
The Laguna-Acoma Hawks boys basketball team took a 64-34 loss in the first round of the Eddie Pena Holiday Classic at the hands of Thoreau High School (46) on Tuesday, December 20 in an afternoon game. They are currently 3-4 and will play Grants High School on Wednesday, December 21 at 7 p.m. at the Port of the Pirated.
The Lady Hawks defeated the Socorro High School 55-20 in the first round of the Robert Daily Holiday Classic and are currently 4-4 as they will play the lady Pirates on Tuesday, December 20 at 5:30 p.m.
Pirate grapplers participate at the Albuquerque Public School invitational held at the Del Norte High School gymnasium over the weekend. Larry Meador,10-2, placed third in the 145pound Weight class with a fall over Luis Salinas (43) of Rio Grande High School. Teammate Manuel Gonzales, 8-3, also finished third in the 121-pound weight class. Gonzales defeated Andrew Martin (4-4) of Eldorado by technical foul.