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Thursday, February 21, 2008

Bears' First-Quarter Onslaught Buries Mustangs

By Harold Smith
Mountain View Telegraph
    The Mountainair High boys basketball team beat Estancia 49-40— in the last three quarters of Saturday's game in the Mustangs' gym.
    But the Bears' performance in the first quarter, during which they outscored Mountainair 24-4, enabled EHS to hold on for the victory. The Bears ultimately won 64-53.
    "The first quarter killed us," 'Stangs coach Kenneth Branch said. "If we hadn't started out so slow, I think we could've got them."
    Class 1A Mountainair (12-12, 5-2) has one regular-season District 7-1A game remaining. Its competitive showing against 2A's seventh-ranked Estancia could bode well for the Mustangs as they head into next week's 7-1A tournament.
    Bears coach Mike Trujillo was queried about the obvious absence of EHS starters R.J. Rice and Alan Gonzalez on Saturday. Trujillo indicated the players were suspended for missing practice.
    "It did affect us," Trujillo said. "But we had to do it to get it straight (with the players) before the district tournament (next week)."
    Estancia— with four 3-pointers, two by David Ortiz— took off like a shot in the first quarter. Mountainair's Mathew Chavez got his team's sole field goal in the period, and the Mustangs were 2-for-6 from the free-throw line.
    "Steven Gregory (who usually does not start but did Saturday) stepped up for us," Trujillo said. "He did a good job shooting the ball."
    Gregory and his teammate, Clayton Gardner, also had treys in the first.
    But the never-say-die Mustangs roared back in the second to close within 11 by halftime. The Bears led 35-24.
    Mountainair's Victor Romero got the ball rolling with a 3-pointer 10 seconds into the second quarter. Romero had eight of his game-high 18 points in the stanza.
    The Bears went on a 13-9 run in the third to widen the cushion to 48-33. Mountainair, with Romero contributing seven points, then outscored Estancia 20-16 in the fourth, but it wasn't enough.
    Gardner (17), Ortiz (14) and Steven Trujillo (13) were the double-digit contributors for the Bears.
    Estancia (22-3, 5-0) also defeated East Mountain 70-55 in a District 8-2A game on the Timberwolves' home court at Roosevelt Middle School on Tuesday. Rice scored 25 points, and Ortiz had 13.
    The Bears are on an eight-game winning streak.
   
'Stangs, Bears girls
    Everyone on Estancia's 10-player roster scored as the visiting Lady Bears sailed past Mountainair 61-25 on Saturday.
    A hustling Erin Thomas chipped in 11 points for the Bears. Brooke Roybal paced Mountainair with nine.
    Estancia's Ashley Durant and Desirae Ortiz scored seven apiece. Hazen had six for the 'Stangs.
    Estancia (17-8, 5-0) beat East Mountain 58-25 in district play at Roosevelt Tuesday. The Bears have won seven in a row.
    Bears, 'Stangs hoops
    Next Up:
   

Mountainair at Vaughn, today: girls, 5:30 p.m.; boys, 7 p.m.
   

Estancia at Bosque School, today: girls, 6 p.m., boys, 7:30 p.m.