If opening night of District 4AA boys basketball was any indication of the next three weeks, everybody better buckle up.

The first salvo was issued by the Blue Griffins of Santa Fe Preparatory, who went to Louis G. Sanchez Memorial Gymnasium to beat the Pecos Panthers 60-54 Tuesday.

That was followed by the Mora Rangers' 87-84 overtime win over Monte del Sol in the Driscoll Fitness Center on the College of Santa Fe campus, meaning the road teams are atop the district standings.

Just wait until Friday night, when Monte del Sol plays at Prep, and the Panthers head to Mora for its homecoming game.

Prep's secret to its win was in senior point guard Christian Martin. He had 14 points, dished out four assists and nabbed five steals as the Blue Griffins outscored Pecos 18-12 in the fourth quarter to break a 42-all stalemate.

"He put the team on his shoulders and wouldn't let us lose," Prep head coach Chris Chakeres said. "He handled the ball, he kept guys organized, he was everywhere on defense and really taking care of the ball."

Then there was D.J. Casados, who was 4-for-4 in the final 2 minutes from the free-throw line as he finished with 12 points. The constant has been Dan Van Essen, and he continued with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Pecos head coach Clyde Sanchez gave some credit to the Blue Griffins defense, but he also saw a familiar pattern to his team.

"The fourth quarter, we just stopped scoring," Sanchez said. "That is hindering us. We get nice looks and nice layups, but it hurts when you miss because then they get a chance to blow by you."

Del Gonzales had 15 points for the Panthers, while Dylan Cook added 13.

Mora 87, Monte del Sol 84 (OT)

Dragons head coach Jonathan Haack was flabbergasted when it was over.

"I don't know what happened in the end," Haack said. "It was just a good game."

The Rangers (8-13 overall, 1-0) know, though. They hit 8 of 11 tries from the line in overtime as they pounded the ball inside to Josh Garcia and Santiago Duran. The pair finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Leo Paul Pacheco led Mora with 26.

Rangers head coach Hank Laumbach was bemused by the Dragons trio of Aaron Vogel, Dennis Mares and Javier Koerdell. Vogel dropped in 27 points, Mares had 24 and Koerdell added 22.

"I don't know what those Dragons ate for lunch, but they were shooting lights out," Laumbach said.

It was needed when Mora turned a 45-44 halftime deficit into a 62-58 lead after three. The Dragons (5-16, 0-1) outscored the visitors 17-13 in the fourth to force overtime.

Evangel Christian 55, Desert Academy 49

The halftime speech was different.

The outcome was not for the Wildcats in a District 2A road game.

The score was knotted at 30-all at the half, but the Eagles outscored Desert Academy 15-5 in the third quarter for a 45-35 lead.

"I looked up at the scoreboard and there was about 4:50 left in the fourth and we had only scored nine points in the half," Wildcats head coach Daniel Romero said. "We dig ourselves into a hole there and we can't get out."

Desert Academy falls to 4-13 overall, and 0-1 in 2A.

Mesa Vista 69, McCurdy School 34

The defense is a given for the Trojans.

The offense hasn't — until their District 3AA opener.

For the first time all season, Mesa Vista cracked double digits in every quarter, which makes watching the defense all the more enjoyable. The Trojans held the Bobcats to four points each in the first and third quarters

Ramon Trujillo had 12 points for Mesa Vista as all 12 players scored. Ryan Bustos paced McCurdy with 11 points.

GIRLS

Española Valley 67, Bernalillo 19

Second quarters are becoming painful to watch for Lady Sundevils head coach Ron Drake.

Española (18-3, 3-0 2AAAA) scored just seven points after taking an 18-7 lead after a quarter, and it wasn't until the 3-minute mark when its scoring drought for the quarter was broken.

"We gotta get rolling in the second quarter," Drake said. "We need to start attacking the basket more."

The Lady Spartans got a taste of futility to start the second half, scoring just one point in the third as Española upped the margin to 50-13.

Nisa Duran had 17 points and six steals, while Melanie Vigil scored 16 and Desiree Howie added 10. Justine Vigil also had six steals to tie Duran for team-high honors.

Desert Academy 57, Evangel Christian 28

There's something about the rim the Lady Wildcats shoot at during the first half of games at Evangel Christian.

It almost never fails that they struggle to adjust to it, and that kept the Lady Eagles within 10-7 after the first quarter of a District 2A game.

Desert Academy (10-7 overall, 2-0 2A) found its stroke in the second, and a 22-4 run until halftime commenced.

"We have trouble making shots on that end in particular," Lady Wildcats head coach Natalie Passalacqua said. "We just have to get used to the hard rim and backboard. The rims are just different."

Maredith Davis led Desert Academy with 22 points, while Estrella Flores added 19.