Sargent boys, girls end season at districts

ALAMOSA—There were little surprises in the Class 2A District 1 Tournament on Friday night at Plachy Hall as all the top seeds advanced to the championship games on Saturday and secured regional spots.

Del Norte 51, Sargent 43 (G)
A free throw shooting clinic by Kendra Parra helped the Del Norte Tigers come from behind and get a win over the Sargent Farmers, 51-43. After trailing by three entering the final quarter, the Tigers hit 11-of-15 from the free throw line and Parra scoring 10 of their 19 points to get the win.
Like the Sierra Grande Panthers did a day before, the Sargent Farmers relied on the 3-point shot to take an early lead over the No. 1 seeded Tigers and they led 8-4 midway through the first frame. The Tigers rallied back and finished with a 9-2 run and a 13-10 lead. In the first quarter Parra led all scorers with nine points while Sargent sophomore Laine Dillon scored seven points.
In the second quarter, the Farmers scored 11 points with senior McKinley Miner scoring seven points. The Tigers had four players score two points each for their eight points including a jumper in the final five seconds to tie the game up at 21.
The Farmers came out attacking in the third quarter as they opened up with a 9-2 run and led 30-23. The Farmers then let off the gas just enough to allow the Tigers to rally back and close the gap just a little. With a last possession breakaway by Miner, the Farmers took a 35-32 advantage into the final quarter.
A 5-point outburst from Bailey Jones helped the Tigers come back and regain a 3-point lead, 38-35, with 4:34 showing on the clock to earn the momentum and put pressure on the Farmers, who where looking for the upset.
That was when Parra took control and closed out the game for the 8-point win.
Behind Parra’s game-high 21 points, Bailey Jones scored 12 points whole Devin Dallas scored 11 points to lead the Tigers, who hit 15 field goals and were 20-of-27 (74 percent) from the free throw line.
The Farmers were led by senior Quincy Lester, who scored 18 points, while Dillon scored 12. The Farmers hit 15 field goals, including three treys, while hitting 8-of-10 (80 percent) from the free throw line.

Del Norte 70, Center 39 (B)
In the first boys’ semifinal, the Del Norte Tigers used huge second quarter runs to put the No.5 seeded Vikings to the third place game, 70-39.
Sanford 54, Center 34 (G)
The Sanford Indians used an 18-point second quarter to distance themselves from the Center Vikings and advance to the title game, 54-34. The Indians, finished the game by hitting 22-of-25 from the line and were led by Raelyn Canty, who scored 17 points before Taylor Larsen contributed 14 points. The Vikings saw one double-digit finisher in Aaliyah Porres, who scored 10 points.

Sanford 67, Sargent 51 (B)
The final score does not do this rivalry game justice as the game was as close as seven points in the final four minutes before everything seemed to roll in favor of the Sanford Indians. They finished off the game by outscoring the Farmers 16-8 in the final quarter for the 16-point win.
The game saw a 15-15 stalemate after the opening quarter before a 20-15 second quarter that included two 3-pointers to give the Indians a 35-30 advantage.
In the second half the lead continued to grow for the Indians and they didn’t look back.
The Indians were led by senior Casey McDaniel as he dropped six field goals, including a trey, for 19 points. Junior Zach Sittler scored 15 points while sophomore Chase Holman scored 12 points.
The Farmers were led by Justin Johnson, who scored 16 points.

Sargent girls, boys lose to Vikings
The Class 2A District 1 Title games filled up Plachy Hall on Saturday and fans were treated to a stellar doubleheader for bragging rights and essentially higher seeding in this upcoming regional tournaments. In the doubleheader, the Lady Tigers of Del Norte emerged victorious while the Sanford boys kept their postseason winning streak strong. In addition to that, there were third place elimination games to start the day.

Center 44, Sargent 31 (G)
By outscoring the Sargent Farmers 14-4 in the final quarter of the game, the Center Vikings eliminated their rivals and earned a berth into this week’s regional tournament, 44-31.
Eight turnovers hurt the Farmers early but despite that there were only seven points scored. The Vikings had opportunities but they went 1-of-6 from the free throw line and trailed 3-1 with five seconds left before junior Aaliyah Porres hit a buzzer-beater 3-pointer to make the score 4-3.
Momentum shifts were huge in the second quarter as the Vikings started off with a 6-3 lead before a 6-0 run to take a 12-6 lead. They finished out the quarter with a 20-13 advantage as the Farmers had six of their 10 points coming off the hot shooting hands of Quincy Lester.
In the third quarter, the Farmers started off with a 9-0 run and actually took a 22-20 lead. Even though they outscored Center 14-10 in the quarter they still trailed 30-27.
The fourth quarter belonged to senior Jordan Lobato of the Vikings as she cashed in on eight points including a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.
Lobato was joined by freshman Deidre Garcia to lead the Vikings with 14 points each.
The Farmers were led by Laine Dillon, who scored 10 points.

Center 65, Sargent 61 OT (B)
It took an extra four minutes but after the dust settled, the No. 5 seeded team scratched and clawed their way to the regional round as the Vikings ousted the Farmers.
The game was relatively close throughout with the Farmers taking an 8-6 edge on the Vikings in the opening quarter. The second quarter saw Farmer senior Justin Johnson cash in on three field goals and he went 3-of-3 from the free throw line to score half of Sargent’s 18 points as they took a 26-20 lead into the break.
A 19-point third quarter would seem to be enough to break the Vikings; however Mark Jones’ squad battled and had six scorers to score 16 of their own and trailed 9-point deficit to the fourth quarter.
In the fourth the Farmers were a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line while Johnson, Esteban Aguilera and Josh Thompson each scored four points. This only motivated the Vikings as they scored 19 points to tie the game. They had six different players score including a combined 8-of-17 from the free throw line.
With the 55-55 score after regulation, the Vikings had four players combine for 10 points to offset field goals from Thompson and Aguilera.
The Farmers were paced by Thompson’s 21 points while Johnson, who went 9-of-11 from the free throw line, scored 19 points.
The Vikings were led by Cook and Jorge Venzor, who each scored 17 points. Meanwhile Robbie Cortez made a splash and hit three 3-pointers, including a back-breaking shot in overtime, for 12 points.

Del Norte 49, Sanford 30 (G)
By limiting Sanford to just four points in the final period, the Del Norte Tigers notched a district title in their belt, 49-30. The Tigers were led by Lacey Jones and Kendra Parra, who each scored 12 points. The Indians were led by Taylor Larsen, who scored 10 points.

Sanford 38, Del Norte 37 (B)
It came down to the last second but the Sanford Indians were able to hold off the Del Norte Tigers, who only led for about two minutes in the final quarter, for the win, 38-37. The win came after the two teams had faced each other three times in the regular season and the Tigers had been victorious in each of the other contests. The Tigers were led by Parra’s 16 points while Jeff Stevenson tacked on 13 points. The Indians were led by McDaniel, who scored 16 points.
The win continues a huge winning streak in the postseason for the Indians as they have yet to lose in 23 straight, including the past three in which they have claimed state titles.
“This is a completely different team, they had to fight and work hard to earn this,” Larsen finalized. “It was a good win for us.”