Patience was what the Los Alamos boys basketball team needed on offense, and the Hilltoppers showed plenty of it Tuesday.

They established a half-court tempo and ran when opportunities called for it, and the result was a 75-52 nondistrict road win over Moriarty.

Los Alamos (2-1) still put up plenty of points, including 21 in the second quarter to take a 39-27 lead into the locker room. There was also plenty of balance to go around.

Alex Kirk had a game-high 32 points, but had support in Doug Hardy with 17 and Jack Russell, who had 13. Zach Parks distributed seven assists, while Michael Helland had 14 rebounds to tie the 6-foot-10 Kirk for team-high honors.

The Hilltoppers also got to the free-throw line, hitting 23 of 29 attempts.

"We got it settled into a halfcourt game and we made some changes a little bit from the Santa Fe High game (a 67-62 loss on Saturday)," head coach Alan Kirk said. "It got us into our offense a little bit better."

Corey Bonds had 16 points for Moriarty, while Pat Corr scored 13.

Monte del Sol 55, East Mountain 42

The Dragons awoke from their offensive slumber against the nondistrict host Timberwolves and scored 29 points in the fourth quarter to expand a 26-22 lead.

"The guys finally listened to me about executing the man-to-man press breaker," Monte del Sol head coach Jonathan Haack said. "They calmed down, started hitting some easy layups and they played pretty good, old-fashioned basketball."

Keith Hyde led Monte del Sol (1-4) with 24 points, and Aaron Vogel had 14.

Santa Fe Preparatory 67, Jemez Valley 35

The Blue Griffins (3-1) were in sync on defense, and it was the catalyst to a 39-10 halftime lead in a nondistrict game in Prep Gymnasium.

"We did a good job getting into the passing lanes, and our ball pressure was good, too," Prep head coach Chris Chakeres said. "This sounds stupid, but we were in our stance and in position. When we were off the ball, we were able to rotate to the weak side."

The leader of that effort was Billy Scarborough, who had 10 rebounds and four steals. He also contributed five assists on the offensive end.

Joel Van Essen battered the Warriors for 33 points, while Ryan Romero added 14 and Christian Martinez scored 10. George Sando led Jemez with 14 points.

Capital 59, Pojoaque 42

The Jaguars used a 25-14 scoring advantage in the second quarter to build a 39-23 halftime lead in a nondistrict game in Ben Lujan Gymnasium.

Capital (2-0) was led by Reece Goodman's 12 points, while twin brothers Jordan and Deven Bolich had 11 and 10, respectively.

The Elks (3-1) were led by Michael Perez, who had 10 points.

NMSD 44, Vaughn 32

Justin Vaughan led the Roadrunners with 17 points in the paint in the nondistrict win.

Joey Huerta added 16 points and Mark Lucero had 11.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Capital 63, Valencia 49

It didn't take long for Capital to adjust.

The Lady Jaguars had to against a taller team in the nondistrict win.

"They had a definite height advantage and in the first quarter we were in a half-court set," Capital head coach Ray Henderson said. "We had to get out of that and went to the speed and we were able to break away and hit some shots."

Capital (1-1) trailed 15-7 after the first quarter, but outscored Valencia 39-14 in the second and third quarters.

Vandora Montoya led Capital with 18 points and Sarah Romero had 16. For Valencia (0-2), Emma Heart had 14.

Española Valley 57, Thoreau 41

The Lady Sundevils weren't getting it done at the 3-point line in the first half, so that option was taken from them at halftime in Edward Medina Gymnasium.

"We were 2-for-14 in the first half, so I told them no threes in the second half," Española head coach Ron Drake said.

Instead, turnovers and the transition game took center stage. Nisa Duran had three of her six steals in the third quarter and Española (1-1) outscored the Lady Hawks 15-9 to take a 36-25 lead into the fourth.

"In the second half, we got a lot of turnovers and points in transition," Drake said. "Nisa's got six steals in both games. She's a really tough player, really tough."

Duran scored 12 points, which was surpassed only by Megan Martinez's 19. Serina Yazzie led Thoreau with 14 points.

NMSD 55, Vaughn 29

Karina Mitchell and Caitlin Velasquez combined for 32 points and 24 rebounds in a nondistrict win by the Lady Roadrunners.

Mitchell led New Mexico School for the Deaf with 17 points and Velasquez led the team with 14 rebounds. She also had six blocks.

"I was pleased with the results, considering the one-week layoff," NMSD head coach Letty Perez said via e-mail. "We still need to work on our defense."

The Lady Roadrunners improved to 3-2.

Pecos 46, Estancia 41

Who can play defense?

Pecos hopes to always have an answer to that question this season.

"That's what we're going to be working on," Pecos head coach Benny Gallegos said following his team's nondistrict win over Estancia.

The Lady Panthers (2-0) did their part.

"We played better defense on the zone, and we were rebounding," Gallegos said. "They were a bigger team and our rebounding worked pretty good."

The Lady Panthers improved to 2-0, after a 66-60 overtime win on Saturday against Springer.

Pecos led 24-23 at half, then expanded that lead to 36-28 entering the final quarter.

Desiree Sena led Pecos with 15 points, Sheryl Easley had 14 and Yeshemadet Turner had 12.

Kaiya Coburn led Estancia with 12 points.

Jemez Valley 51, Santa Fe Preparatory 38

Fifty seven turnovers will never help win a basketball game.

Ever.

So the Blue Griffins will work harder to cut down on the mistakes after their nondistrict loss to undefeated Jemez Valley in Prep Gymnasium.

"This is a very young team and the majority of them are freshmen and eighth-graders," Prep head coach Janelle Haught said. "So it's a reflection of our youth. But we're improving every game."

Marissa Naranjo led the Blue Griffins (0-4) with 14 points.

"She carries the team in every single game we've played," Haught said. "She's our captain and she plays like one."

Dominique Earl added 10 points for Prep.

For Jemez Valley (6-0), Dellynn Dhinana had 18 points and Teeah Toya 10.

The Blue Griffins were within 34-32 after three quarters, but were outscored
19-4 in the final frame.

East Mountain 44, Monte del Sol 28

When Marissa Danielson went to bench after picking up her fourth foul late in the first half of a nondistrict road game, so did the Lady Dragons' offense.

"It was close until the third quarter," Monte del Sol head coach Jimmy Sosaya said. "Marissa didn't play the second half of the second quarter and none of the third."

Danielson still managed to lead Monte del Sol (0-4) with nine points. East Mountain was led by Savanna Hands' nine points.