Jal slips past Steers 56-52

TEXICO - Rogelio Carreon may not score that many points, but you notice the difference when he's either in or out of the game.

While Carreon, a 6-foot-5, 300-pound senior who has committed to Boise State for football, finished with a relatively modest 10 points on Thursday, his presence opened up some shots for his Jal teammates and the Panthers were able to clip Farwell 56-52 in a boys quarterfinal matchup of Texico's Citizens Bank tournament.

Jal took the lead with an 11-0 first-quarter run and held off challenges by the Steers after that. Farwell went in front 31-30 early in the third period, but another 8-0 spurt put the Panthers on top for good.

"That's a good team," Steers coach Shane Perkins said of Jal (7-1). "They've got size and they've got some shooters. I don't know if they always shoot that well, but we left them open a few times.

"We just couldn't get the stops we needed, or get some baskets when we needed."

Jacob Lujan scored 11 of his game-high 16 points in the first quarter for Jal while his cousin and Rogelio Carreon's brother, junior Alexavier Carreon, added 13 of his 15 after halftime.

"I knew Farwell was going to be a tough out," said Jal coach Emmanuel Lujan, who is Jacob Lujan's father and also has five nephews on the team. "We put together a tough schedule. We've had three tournaments in a row, and our goal was to win every one of them."

The Panthers slipped up in that regard earlier this month, losing to Kermit (Texas) 47-44 in the finals of their own tournament. But they're determined to make another run at a Class 2A state title after losing in last year's finals to Rehoboth Christian 55-50.

Junior guard Adrian Nunez finished with 12 points for the Steers (8-2), who also got help off the bench from senior guard Zac Benoit (three 3s) and junior post Andrew Hested (six points).

Perkins, whose team is in the middle of a stretch of eight games in 12 days heading into a brief holiday respite, said some team members have been playing through a bit of sickness lately.

"We just need to get back to being healthy again," he said.

In other boys tournament quarterfinal action:

Texico 73, Tatum 45 - Junior guard Jahvon Askew shattered his personal-best in scoring, finishing with six 3-pointers and 34 points as the Wolverines routed the Coyotes. Texico (4-2) advanced to a semifinal matchup on Friday against Magdalena, which cruised in its quarterfinal against Chaparral 88-41.

Senior Brayden Bender added 15 points for the Wolverines, while sophomore Cade Figg notched 10 tallies. For the Coyotes (4-3), senior Leo Gonzales scored 10 points.

In girls tournament play on Thursday:

Tatum 57, Texico 51 - The Lady Wolverines had a fantastic first half, building a 33-16 lead, but Tatum turned the script completely after the break. The Lady Coyotes pulled to within a point with a 23-point third stanza, then pulled away down the stretch for the win.

Freshman Louann Villasenor led Tatum with 13 points, while sophomore Valaria Marizcal added 12 and eighth-grader Sydni Rice 10. For Texico (1-5), junior Catelyn Breshears put in 26 points and sophomore Kaya New had 10.

Tatum was to face Tohatchi, a 59-12 winner over Magdalena, in Friday's championship semifinals. Meantime, the Lady Wolverines matched up with Mag in the consolation bracket.

Farwell 72, San Jon 6 - The Lady Coyotes were completely overmatched and scored their only field goal of the game with about 2 1/2 minutes left.

Freshmen Makaylee Baldwin with 22 points and Bella Jaime with 13 pace the Lady Blue (14-1). Senior Chantzee Elliott accounted for four points for San Jon, including its lone field goal.

Farwell was to face Tucumcari, a 48-29 winner on Thursday over Jal, in Friday's semifinals.

In other boys action on Thursday:

Clovis Christian 61, Floyd 25 - The Eagles (7-2) ran out to a 42-11 halftime lead and cruised to a home victory over the Broncos.

Juniors Noah Gershon, Carter Teune and Caleb Vanbeek led the way for CCS with 17, 12 and 12 points, respectively, while senior Cristian Mascorro topped Floyd (1-6) with eight points.