By Marty Mayfield
KRTN Multi-Media
The Raton Tigers hosted the Tierra Encantada Scorpions Wednesday night after Tierra defeated ATC Tuesday evening to advance to the next game of the District 3AAA basketball tourney.
Tierra struck first with a Manny Hernandez 3-pointer but Raton scored and soon took the lead and never looked back. In the first half of the game Raton easily drove the lane and scored inside with the lay-up. Dustin Segura, Jesse Espinoza and Austin Jones along with Ethan Martinez scored inside the paint in the first half. By the time the halftime buzzer sounded Raton lead the game 45-26.
The second half of the game looked totally different as Raton began to shoot threes and Tierra put the pressure on to force turnovers on sloppy passes and take aways. Soon the 22 point lead Raton had dwindled to with in 12. Tierra continued to press but they too soon ran into the covered bucket scoring only three points in the fourth as Raton built their lead back up to 20 plus points.
Once the final buzzer sounded Raton ended Tierra’s season and will advance to play Desert Academy Thursday evening.
Tierra 11 15 17 3 46
Raton 22 23 15 12 72
Tierra High Point
Manny Hernandez 26 4 3-pointers 5 of 7 free throws
Justin Vigil 16 1 of 2 free throws
Free Throws 7 of 13 attempts
Raton High Point
Jesse Espinoza 12 1 of 2 free throws
Austin Jones 20 2 of 2 free throws
Dustin Segura 8 0 for 1 free throw
Free Throws 6 of 11 attempts
