KIRTLAND – The Piedra Vista High School boys basketball team is on a bit of a roll heading into District 1-5A play next week, picking up their fourth win in their last five games with a 64-36 win against Kirtland Central on the road Wednesday night at Bronco Arena.
Led by senior Julius Keeswood, who scored 19 points, Piedra Vista led from virtually start to finish, improving their record to 5-9 this season ahead of their final game of the non-district season Friday night at home against Miyamura.
The Panthers, who at one point earlier this season, had lost eight straight games, pulled clear of the Broncos late in the second quarter of what had been a tightly played contest.
With Piedra Vista clinging to an 18-16 lead after a Panthers timeout with 2:42 remaining in the half, Keeswood finished the frame scoring twice inside the paint while also nailing a 3-point shot as the Panthers closed the half on an 11-2 run and a 29-18 advantage heading to the locker room.
“I don’t really remember what I said, but we had to clean up some things,” said Piedra Vista head coach Forrest Becker. “We had some turnovers in the first half but we made some adjustments and got some shots to go in the hole.”
San Juan County Scoreboard
BOYS BASKETBALL
Tuesday
Navajo Pine 49, Shiprock Northwest 37
Page, Ariz. 75, Kirtland Central 34
Wednesday
Piedra Vista 64, Kirtland Central 36
Farmington 84, Miyamura 36
Thoreau 59, Newcomb 41
Tohatchi 60, Navajo Prep 44
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Tuesday
Navajo Pine 60, Shiprock Northwest 18
Kirtland Central 57, Page, Ariz. 11
Newcomb 43, Thoreau 32
Navajo Prep 57, Tohatchi 29
Piedra Vista 58, Aztec 44
Grants 38, Shiprock 31
Gallup 64, Farmington 51
The Panthers outscored the Broncos 35-18 in the second half, with sophomore Santiago Aranda scoring eight of his 13 points in the third quarter.
As the Panthers offense clicked, the defense also stepped up its game, particularly with junior Juaquin Jojola, who recorded five blocked shots and five rebounds on the night.
“(Jojola) is a very active defensive player, he works really hard and can shoot the ball a little bit as well,” Becker said.
Kirtland Central’s offense was led by senior Bryle Matthews, who’s 22 points led all scorers on the night. While the Broncos shot nearly 50% from the floor during the game, they also turned the ball over 15 times, with five of those turnovers resulting in points on the other end of the court. The Broncos also missed seven of 12 shots from the free throw line.
Kirtland Central falls to 5-11 overall this season and will open its District 1-4A campaign Tuesday night at home against Shiprock. Tuesday’s game will be the 49th contest between the two teams dating back to 2005, with the Broncos maintaining a 28-20 advantage in prior contests.
Following Friday’s non-district finale against Miyamura, the Panthers will open its District 1-5A campaign Tuesday at home against Volcano Vista. The 12-2 Hawks are three-time defending state Class 5A champions, are ranked at the top of the classification this season and have a 4-1 advantage over the Panthers in five previous games between the two schools.
| Panthers | 12 | 17 | 16 | 19 | 64 |
| Broncos | 8 | 10 | 7 | 11 | 36 |