The cliché is that basketball games are won at the free throw line, and West Las Vegas’ 74-49 win over Raton on Tuesday was a case in point. West went to the line for 31 free throw opportunities to Raton’s 8, while earning its second District 2AAA win over Raton by sinking 20 of those opportunities, with 18 of them coming in the second half.
The game began on even footing as both teams traded the lead in the first period and West holding onto a slim 16 -14 advantage at the end of the first period. Even though Raton could only muster 5 points in the second period, West couldn’t really capitalize and lead by 8 at intermission.
In the third period though, West’s big man, John Balizan caught fire and poured in 11 including four for four from the line and a three ball to help West outscore the Tigers by ten. Leading by eighteen to start the final period, West cruised to the win as Balizan ended the night with 20.
Raton’s Quartieri brothers lead the scoring for the Tigers as Matthew totaled 17, most from the inside and Dylan had 11 including two three-pointers.
Earlier in the night’s action, the JV teams battled back-and-forth as West held the Raton JV at bay and turned a two point lead at halftime to a 56- 48 win. The C-Team score had West defeating Raton 66-22.
