Late rush not enough to save Farmers, Thunderbirds stay undefeated

MOSCA — Sangre de Cristo’s Boys (4-0) knocked off Sargent (1-3) Friday night. The Thunderbirds edged Sargent by a score of 40-37.

At their home tournament last weekend, Sangre de Cristo overcame last year’s Thunderbird Shootout champion Creede in the semi-final round by a score of 48-37. From there Cheraw was an easier task, SDC bested Cheraw in the Championship 49-34.  Sangre closed the weekend ranked No. 3 in 1A basketball according to CHSAA’s unofficial RPI rankings. 

For Sargent things were more difficult as they faced two 3A opponents in La Jara to start the Mountain Top Tournament. Sargent would get their first win of the season over Las Animas to close the weekend.

Friday night four points in the first quarter from Jake Slane helped boost the T-Birds to an 8-4 lead. Sargent thawed in the second quarter with two three pointers, one each from Eddy Gonzalez and Kage Pepper. But Manuel Lopez added two of his own for Sangre de Cristo, and the Thunderbirds went to the half up 18-13. 

Slane led a 15-point third quarter for Sangre with eight of his own to further pressure Sargent, entering the final frame with a 33-23 lead over the visitors. Slane’s  16 final points were a team high for the Thunderbirds for the night. The fourth quarter was a testament to the fighting spirit at Sargent High School that seems to transcend playing fields.

Trailing by 10 points with eight minutes to go Blaine Behil and Kage Pepper added two treys and helped Sargent outscore Sangre de Cristo 14-7 in the final quarter. The late-game heroics were not enough and Sangre de Cristo escaped unscathed with a 40-37 win.

Sangre de Cristo will look to stay undefeated when they go to Del Norte Saturday Dec. 15. With an immediate turnaround Sargent will get a chance to rectify their record and add a notch to the left column when they continue their road trip Dec. 8 against Sierra Grande at 7 p.m.