Northern Rio Grande Basketball Tournament Tips Off in in Espanola on Thursday

The Northern Rio Grande Tournament tips off on Thursday, January 4th, in Espanola.  This is the 74th annual edition of the boys basketball tournament that will be hosted by Espanola Valley High School.  All six of the 2A District 5 teams will be in attendance.  Here is a look at the opening round matchups and all of the teams that will be participating this weekend.

Mesa Vista's Jordan Gallegos finishes a drive during a game at Espanola Valley High School, which will host the 2024 NRGT.

Location: 

Espanola Valley High School

1111 El Llano Rd, Espanola, New Mexico, 87532

Dates:

January 4th through January 6th

Admission:

Students - $7

General Admission - $10

Chair Back Seats - $12

Here is a link to order tickets online: 

Tickets for the 2024 Northern Rio Grande Basketball Tournament

2024 Northern Rio Grande Boys Basketball Tournament Bracket

Espanola, New Mexico

Thursday, January 4th - 10:00AM

Mesa Vista Trojans 

McCurdy Bobcats

We have a good one right out of the box with the Bobcats and the Trojans starting things off early on Thursday morning.  Mesa Vista comes into the tournament after not having played a game since December 16th, on the road in Cuba.  The Trojans next game against Pecos was canceled due to weather, so they should have fresh legs going into this game.  Mesa Vista is led by their outstanding big man, Jordan Gallegos, who is basically good for twenty-plus points about every game.  There is no one in District 5 that’s as much of a force in the paint as Gallegos.  

The McCurdy Bobcats are coming off a four-game losing streak after starting the season off 3-0.  Their most recent loss came on December 21st against the Pecos Panthers who will be participating in this weekend’s tournament also.  Do not let that recent streak fool you: this is a team that can’t bust you.  Senior Guard Lucas Martinez is having an outstanding season so far, including a streak of scoring twenty-plus points in three straight games. Junior Guard Ryan Montoya is having an outstanding season early on also.  The question for me in this game is whether the Bobcat’s inside man, Jeremaya Roybal will be able to handle Gallegos in the paint.  Roybal is a baller himself.  This is a great game to start the tournament off with.

Espanola, New Mexico

Thursday, January 4th, 1:00PM

Penasco Panthers

Mora Rangers

The second game of the tournament is also a good one.  The Mora Rangers are having a very good early season with a 5-2 record and tied for first place in the district.  That record includes a five-game win streak before their most recent loss to Santa Rosa in the Dual Cities Tournament last weekend.  The Rangers are led by their Senior Guard Lincoln Alcon, who in my opinion is contending for District 5 player of the year for this season.  It’s not just Alcon that is playing big for Mora.  Forward Jeremiah Pacheco is an outstanding rebounder.  Derik Duran is an outstanding outside shooter.  Santiago Gold is playing well for Mora.  This is a deep team.  

Despite their 3-6 record on the year coming into the weekend, the Penasco Panthers have had a good start to their season.  One of those wins came against fellow NRGT attendees, the Dulce Hawks in early December.  The Panther’s Senior Forward Demarcus Lopez is an outstanding scorer, who dropped 38 points on the Monte Del Sol Charter Dragons at last week’s Dual Cities Tournament.  I don’t care if you score 38 in your backyard with your buddies.  Those are baller numbers.  Penasco has depth on their roster also.  The Romero Brothers, Angel and Shia, Kaileb Atencio, Dylan Lopez and Nehemiah Chavez have all made big plays in crucial moments this season.  If you want to see what this team is made of, please check out the game-highlights video I made from their trip to Jemez Valley, where they came back from being down sixteen points early, to win the game in overtime by seven.  This is another game I’m looking forward to.

Espanola, New Mexico

Thursday, January 4th, 4:00PM

Pecos Panthers

Questa Wildcats

There’s no easy way to say it.  This is going to be a tough one for the Wildcats.  The Pecos Panthers are perennial powerhouse, and they are the defending Class 2A state champions.  Although they lost nine seniors from last year’s championship team, they are still as tough as they come.  Pecos comes into the game with a 6-5 record on the season that includes wins over fellow District 2 teams Mora and McCurdy.  Pecos are led by Senior Guard Lawrence Ragland and Senior Forward Joshua Gonzales who both played very big in the game against Mora on opening night.

For a Questa team still rebuilding in its first season with head coach Mike Rael, these are the kind of games that can only make their team better.  Getting a shot at the defending champions has to get your team motivated.  With a 3-5 record, Questa has already reached more wins this season in eight games than they did in all of last season.  That’s a sign of a team buying into their new coach’s system.  One sure way to get players to believe in a new coach is by winning, and Rael has done that early.  The Wildcats will need a big game out of Senior Forward Antonio Romero in the paint if they want to keep up with the Panthers.  

Espanola, New Mexico

Thursday, January 4th, 7:00PM

Dulce Hawks

Escalante Lobos

Escalante comes into the Northern Rio Grande Tourney with a 5-2 record so far and a tie for first place in the district with Mora.  The Lobos are the three-time defending District 5 champions, and they look as sharp as they always do.  In their most recent game against Navajo Pine, Escalante looked to be firing on all cylinders, shooting well from outside and flying up and down the court.  The Lobos are led by last season’s District 5 player of the year, Luka Torrez.  Torrez is a dominant scorer, rebounder, passer and defender.  Greysen Horan and Jayden Salazar are also big players for Escalante.  Anyone of the three of them are liable to drop twenty-plus points a night.  The Lobos have also had big games from Damien Baeza this season, who is a good outside shooter.

The Dulce Hawks come into the tournament with a 4-8 record on the season that includes a recent win over Monte Del Sol in the Dual Cities Tourney last weekend.  In games with common opponents from District 5, the Hawks lost on the road to Pensaco early in December.  Watch out for Forward James Johnson from Dulce.  He is a good scorer in the paint and seemingly able to finish a lot of unbalanced shots.  Guards Michael TeCube and Xavien Vicenti are good shooters for Dulce also. 

As always, any notifications of any mistakes or needed corrections are very welcomed at cwmartinsports@gmail.com.

For more coverage of 2A District 5 and other Class 2A teams, as well as teams from around the state of New Mexico throughout the season, including recaps and game highlights, please visit cwmartinsports.blogspot.com and youtube.com/CWMartinSports.