Week Eight: Friday Night Hoops

Grine Lessons Learned

1. Top-25 Suffers On Friday: Fifty percent of the Top-25 ranked teams in New Mexico fell on Friday night. Gallup High School has been the silent killer as of late taking down a pair of Top-25 this season.

2. No. 7 Coyotes are the real deal: Yes, they are ranked in the Top-10 but in 4A hoops this season, so far, it's the Coyotes then the rest of 4A. I like the Coyotes more and more each week.

3. Farmington turning a page folks: The Scorpions started the season rough at 0-4 but have been able to sneak some wins as of late. They could find themselves getting some more love in 4A Bracket Watch (Every other Thursday feature).

Prime Time Players

Boys Basketball

Cesar Nava, Roswell: 19 points

Matt Huffines, Farmington: 20 points

PJ CdeBaca, Pecos: 20 points

Nominate: Players of the Week

Girls Basketball

Gail Sanchez, Roswell: 20 points

Kyanne Kowatch, Tularosa: 20 points

Danni Williams, Clovis: 17 points

Brandi Gomez, Clovis: 13 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists

Nominate: Players of the Week

Box Score Recaps

(Josh Henderson, NMPreps.com Basketball & Football Staff)

No. 7 Roswell 63, No. 13 St. Pius 49:

The Roswell Coyotes and the St. Pius X Sartans faced on on Friday night to do battle as two of the top teams in 4A battled it out on the night. The Coyotes would show just how impressive a team they can be when running on all cylinders on Friday night. The Coyotes held on to a 33-28 lead at the half but would come out of the break and go on a 20-7 scoring run in the 3rd quarter and the Coyotes would never look back as they remain undefeated on the season at 11-0. Leading the way for Roswell was Junior guard Cesar Nava who had a game high 19 points.

No. 20 Santa Teresa 43, Gadsden 34:

The Santa Teresa Desert Warriors took on the Gadsden Panthers in Fridays showdown, the Desert Warriors would come away with the victory following a good defensive showing for Santa Teresa. The Desert Warriors are now 8-5 on the year after the win and will host Carlsbad in their next game.

Farmington 67, Miyamura 39:

The Farmington Scorpions took on the Miyamura Patriots on Firday night and it was a much needed victory for the Scorpions following the 67-39 win over another 4A opponent. With the win the Scorpions improve to 4-7 on the year following a 20-8 lead in the 1st quarter one which they would never squander. Farmington will have a bit of momentum heading into their next matchup after their success against Miyamura. Leading the way for the Scorpions was Matt Huffhines who had 20 points on the night.

Pecos 85, Escalante 40:

The Pecos Panthers and the Escalante Lobos did battle on Friday night at the Northern Rio Grande Tournament. The Panthers 10-1 on the season would take on the 7-5 Lobos and dispatch of them easily leading by 29 at the half. The Panthers looking like the team to beat in 2A this year with quality wins over Santa Rosa, Tularosa and a huge 101-62 victory over Mora last week. Leading the way for the Panthers was P.J. C De Baca who had a game high 20 points.

The Panthers will take on the Mora Rangers in the NRG championship match

Girls Basketball Recaps

No. 24 Roswell 49, No. 16 St. Pius 42:

The Roswell Lady Coyotes would take on the visiting St. Pius X Sartans on the night as the lady Coyotes would look to continue their 6 game win streak and make it 7 wins in a row for the red hot Coyotes. Roswell is now 8-4 on the year and are looking more and more like the teams we are accustom to seeing out of Roswell. Leading the way for the Lady Coyotes was Gali Sanchez with a game high 20 points.

Tularosa 60, Magdalena 38:

The Tularosa Lady Wildcats took on the Magdalena on Friday night as both teams got down to business to help bring in the new year of some girls basketball. The Lady Wildcats would end up winning a lopsided affair after pulling away early and would never look back. The Lady Wildcats have enjoyed some recent success and with the win against Magdalena the lady Wildcats have momentum on their side for the start of the new yea as they move to 9-5 on the year after Kyanne Kowatch led the lady Wildcats with 12 points and also contributing was junior Valeria Mendez.

No. 2 Clovis 64, No. 18 Cleveland 33:

The Clovis lady Wildcats took on the Cleveland Storm on Friday night and the Storm would play the roll of visitor in the matchup that featured two top tier 5A teams. With the win Clovis improves to 12-1 on the season, and has the Lady Wildcats thrilled with the victory over a quality 5A opponent. Leading the way for the Storm despite the loss was Courntey Lawson who had 11 points and Erin Carrica who added 10 more points. Leading the Way for the Lady Wildcats was Danni Williams who had a game high 17 points, but also having a good game was Junior guard Brandi Gomez who had 13]4 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.

On Tap For Saturday

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Academy vs St. Michael's

Alamo Navajo vs Quemado

Artesia vs Centennial

Bosque vs Tucumcari (3PM)

Clayton vs Springer

Clovis vs Las Cruces

Grady vs Des Moines

Hobbs vs Midland Lee (TX)

Magdalena vs Ramah

Mayfield vs Valencia

Mesilla Valley vs Los Lunas

Onate vs Carlsbad

Pecos vs. Mora (NRG Championship - Ben Lujan Gym)

Robertson vs Socorro

Ruidoso vs Hatch Valley

Santa Rosa vs Laguna Acoma

Silver vs Tularosa

Taos vs Santa Fe

Tatum vs Melrose

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Week Eight: Mr. Basketball Candidates Race

Week Eight: Miss Basketball Candidate Race

Special Insider: Big Man's Game

Joshua J. GrineClick Here to view this Link. joined NMPreps.com before the 2010 basketball season as our Senior Basketball Analyst. Grine is a former coach (Valencia, Rio Rancho) and basketball player (Grants, Rio Rancho) who has been around New Mexico for several years.

E-Mail: grinejosh@yahoo.com

Twitter: Twitter Here.