DEL NORTE— Fueled by 15-5 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter, the visiting Sanford Indians turned back a game Del Norte squad, 49-42 , in a key Southern Peaks League showdown in Rio Grande County on Saturday night.

The host Tigers got a 14-point scoring effort from the likes of Kyle Garcia and Kaleb Stephens, but the duo weren’t enough to offset a balance Indians scoring attack . Sanford’s Brett Forster scored a game-high 22 points, while teammate Rhett Jackson added 10. Del Norte held Tommy Caldon scoreless and was strapped with foul trouble early on. The Tigers played well defensively, but were unable to capitalize on opportunities late in the contest. Sanford also made the most of its chances when fouled late in the game, making 15-of-26 free throws for the game.

“I felt we did a good job defensively,” Del Norte head coach Clint Mondragon said. “I was pleased with the defensive effort, it’s just that we missed a couple of box outs against Forster and he put those rebounds in. We had to start fouling late in the game and Sanford was solid from the free throw line.”

Sanford is 7-3 overall and 3-1 in SPL play, while Del Norte is 5-7 and 2-3 , respectively.



Sierra Grande wins barnburner.

FORT GARLAND - The Sierra Grande boys’ basketball team had three players score in double figures against Primero on Saturday and needed all of those points, as the Panthers won a Southern Peaks League barnburner by a 66-63 count.

Sierra Grande jumped on Primero in the first half, scoring 19 points in the first period and adding 21 more in the second to earn a seemingly commanding 40-26 advantage. Primero turned the tables in the second half, outscoring Sierra Grande 37-26 and nearly completely the comeback.

Gabriel Perez paced the Panthers with a 23-point effort, while Tyler Barela dropped 16 points and Jake Robbins chipped in 15 in the winning effort.

“The key for us was executing in the first half and we didn’t force things,” Sierra Grande head coach Matt Lucero said. “We just try to control the things that we can control by playing better defense.

“We didn’t let them penetrate , which is what they like to do. They’re a quick team and we were able to play solid defense against them.”

Sierra Grande is now 9-2 overall, while Primero suffered its first loss and is now 11-1.



Sanford bests Del Norte.

DELNORTE—TheSanford High girls’ basketball team reboundedfromatoughFriday loss to La Veta by scoring a 48-40 Southern Peaks League victory over host Del Norte Saturday. The Indians did so by playing team defense and makingsuretheTigersweren’t allowed many second-chance points.

Del Norte forced the after intermission, outscoring Sanford 15-4 in the third period to but the deficit to 30-26 heading into the final stanza. The Indians were able to regain their composure and win the fourth quarter 18-14 , but not before the Tigers made them work for the win.

“We’ve had that issue a little bit,” Sanford coach Blake Canty said of the La Veta loss. “I think it was just staying mentally focused after halftime . We didn’t execute and take care of the ball. Del Norte changedalittleontheiroffense at halftime, but we just didn’t take care of it on our end.

“We needed to get that one back around,” Canty said. “I think it was mental stuff in the second half, trying to stay up from a full game the night before. The mental thing let them back in the game.”

“I just think we were mentally ready. Our team has a tendency to get scared when we’re playing someone that is really tough. We’re working on that mental aspect.

“We went in at halftime and changed our offense. We changed back to a more familiar offense and that seemed to calm them down a bit. It might have been too much for us to overcome, I don’t know.”

Tori Mortensen paced the Indians with 15 points, while Amber Edgar and Morgan Neese chipped in eight and seven points, respectively. Del Norte was led by Molly McPartland’s 15-point effort. Eva Quintana added eight points and Amanda McConnell chipped in seven.

Sanford improved its record to 6-6 overall and 3-2 in SPL play.



Moffat stumbles against Mountain Valley.

MOFFAT— Will Shellabarger was shaking his head Saturday night wondering what happened to his basketball team on the trip home from Primero on Friday evening. TheCowgirlswerecomingoffa dominating58-19 performance over the host Bulldogs.

Instead of building on the lopsided win Moffat stumbled against rival Mountain Valley and dropped a hard-fought 37-34 decision to the Indians. The Cowgirls were forced into uncharacteristic turnovers and didn’t shoot the ball well from mid-range , which ultimately spelled defeat for them.

“MountainValleyjustplayed a phenomenal game against us,” Shellabarger said. “They just executed and played a great game. We didn’t shoot the ball well from the 10-foot range and we fouled too much. We also had 26 turnovers and didn’t shoot well from the line.”

Jennifer Harsh-Burger paced Mountain Valley with 18 points, while Brianna Hunter had 10 points for Moffat. The Indians were17-of-21 fromthe foul line, while the Cowgirls were 6-of-27 from the charity stripe. Stephanie Spurlock grabbed seven rebounds for Moffat.

Moffat is now7-5 overall and its league mark to 5-5 .



Sierra Grande defeats Primero.

FORT GARLAND— The Sierra Grande girls’ basketball team had little problems fending off visiting Primero Saturday,as it claimed a 42-18 District VI contest.

Brianna Archuleta paced the Panthers with a game high nine points, while Brook Lucero chipped in eight, Demi Mizokami had seven and Rikki Archuleta added six. Kayla Lopez led the team with six rebounds, while Brianna Archuleta, Amy Garcia and Carina Agustin all had five boards.

“It was just a good defensive game on our end,” Sierra Grande head coach Fidel Velasquez said. “A lot of kids got playing time and they played good.”

Sierra Grande improved to 9-2 overall and 7-1 in league, while Primero dropped to 0-12 and 0-8 , respectively.



Center holds off Antonito.

CENTER— The Center High School girls’ basketball team made the most of their home-court advantage, shooting the ball very well in its own gymnasium and concluding the night with an impressive, 63-42 , victory over visiting Antonito on Friday.

The Vikings’ Brittany Myers poured in a game-high 18 points,while teammate Ashley Warsh added 11 points. The Lady Trojans were paced by Jodi Mora’s 13 points and Sabrina Garcia’s 11. Jennifer Sanderson added nine points, while Amber Garcia had seven.

Antonito entered the second half trailing 25-23 , but Center was able to get a balanced scoring attack and win the rebounding battle, which limited the Trojans on second chance opportunities. Antonito will host Escalante, N.M. on Thursday.