Pirates go 2-1 at Armendariz Tournament

Isaiah Hernandez pounded in a put back literally at the last second of regulation to tie up the Pirates as they battled the 4-A Pojoaque Elks (3-4), 57-57, in their first game of the Armendariz Tournament at Capital High School. The Pirates tussled with the Elks trading buckets and eventually fouls and free throw shots put the Elks in the “W” column. The final overtime score was 66-61.

“This game was filled with emotion and was a close game throughout. The intense atmosphere felt like a playoff game even for a 9:30 am game,” said Coach Landon Chavez head coach of the GHS high school boys’ basketball team. “We played very well, but foul trouble was our Achilles heel. We sent their best player to the free throw line 16 times which was more than our entire team.” In fact, Derek Sanchez, 2, for the Elks shot 20 free throws and made 12 of them with 11 of those free throws in the back end of the fourth quarter.

“Our execution down the stretch put us in a position to win the game, we just need to find a way to closeout tight games. This game taught us some valuable lessons, and we’ve won two straight since,” added Chavez.

On Friday, December 6, the Pirates defeated 3-A Tohatchi High School (4-4) 49-37. High scorers in the Tohatchi game were Colton Moore with 13, Ethan Willie with 7 and Noah Victorino, Isaiah Hernanez and Tyler Everhart with five apiece.

On Saturday, December 11, the Pirates went on to defeat the Kirtland Central Broncos (2-6) by a score of 55-52. “As head coach I have never beaten Kirtland Central. We started off extremely well getting up 16-4 in the first, and forcing KC to use three timeouts. Their sharp shooting from downtown got them back into the game,” said Chavez of that game. The Pirate answered the call as the Broncos tightened up the game in the second half and were able to pull out the three point victory at the end. “The fourth quarter got close, but we took care of the ball down the stretch and made some timely baskets to seal the game. It was a big win against a formidable 4A opponent,” said Chavez. High scorers in the Kirtland Central game were Colton Moore with 20 and Isaiah Hernandez with 11.

Grants High School Lady Pirate Basketball Update

The lady Pirates basketball team lost their last four games in a tough week for the lady Pirates. A tough schedule for the lady Pirates started on Tuesday, December 8, as they battled a sea of purple as the lady Broncos of Kirtland Central High School (4-2) outscored the lady Pirates every quarter for a final score of 72-46. Later in the week they traveled to the Rio Rancho Tournament and lost 39-28 to the Rio Rancho Rams (3-4) and then lost a close 3-point game to the lady Wildcats of Clovis (5-3) 56-51. On Saturday, December 11, they lost Mayfield High School, 67-46. Currently they are 0-6 as they host the lady Bengals of Gallup (8-1) on Thursday, December 16.

Wrestlers participate at Bloomfield Duals and JV Invite

The Grants High School Wrestling team traveled to Bloomfield this past Saturday. The varsity participated in the Bobcat Duals where they were defeated in Pool D first round by Aztec High School, 63-18 and then went on to defeat Gallup High School, 51-6, to earn a second place in Pool D competition.

The girls wrestling team participated in the Bobcat Invite and placed 11th with 13 points. Grants JV wrestling took second place with 10 points.