As fashion statements go, it's questionable.

As a team-bonding exercise, it's spot on.

One thing is for certain: One can't question the motives. Or the results.

Ever since every Pecos boys basketball player decided to shave the school's name into one another's head -- plus each's uniform number on top of the dome -- the Panthers have rattled off a pair of wins to nail down the No. 2 seed in next week's District 2AA Tournament.

Pecos (20-6, 6-2) got the latest win in that mini streak Thursday night in Prep Gymnasium with a 76-72 win over Santa Fe Preparatory.

Aaron Lujan came off the bench to score
14 points, including a 4-for-5 effort from the free-throw line down the stretch to seal the deal.

The Blue Griffins (18-6, 4-3) will be the district's No. 3 seed and open next week's tournament at home Monday against Monte del Sol. The Panthers will host Peñasco that same night with the winners to meet two days later in the 2AA semifinals.

From there it's a date with regular-season champion Mora.

No matter how the district tournament shakes out, both teams on the floor on Thursday agreed that it's the three-team dogfight in 2AA that will eventually benefit all three teams come state tournament time.

"No doubt it helps, but we would prefer wins instead of games like this," said Dennis Casados, Prep head coach. "I've been doing this a long time. The kids are resilient. They'll bounce back from this and probably sleep fine [Thursday]. Me, I won't rest easy until we do the little things to get wins in games like this."

"Right now, I'd love to see all three of us be in the [state] quarterfinals because we've shown we're three of the best teams in the state," said Clyde Sanchez, Pecos head coach. "Just getting through this district makes all of us better. It's almost like a playoff game on nights like this."

Despite it being close most of the way, the Panthers led Thursday's game for all but 2 minutes, 40 seconds.

Adrian Ortiz's mid-range jumper gave the Panthers a 6-4 lead midway through the first quarter. It was part of a 7-0 run that kept them in the lead -- or tied for it -- the rest of the way.

In truth, the game boiled down to two opposing forces: Pecos' speed and Prep's size. The speed won as the Panthers' smaller, quicker guards forced 36 turnovers and converted 16 of 19 attempts from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.

Paul CdeBaca also had 14 points for Pecos while Johnny Vigil and Adrian Ortiz added 12 apiece and Darren DeHerrera 10.

Prep got all but five of its points from its starting lineup as Dan Van Essen had a game-high 15 points, eight rebounds and two rebounds. Ryan Evaldson, D.J. Casados, Joey Lambert and Will Lenfestey had 13 points apiece.

Of course, none of them had Prep's name or their jersey numbers shaved into their heads.

"It was our captain's decision and I think everyone on the team was good with it -- but our parents probably hated it," Lujan said. "We haven't lost since we did it, so it's working."

Sanchez said he passed on the idea of having the ear-to-ear scrawl cut into what is left of his gray hair.

"But if it's a team unity thing and the players use it to come together, I'm happy with it," he said, rubbing the back of his head. "I just didn't have enough hair for them to put the letters on."

Contact Will Webber at wwebber@sfnewmexican.com or 986-3060.