Lady Tigers Mark the Win Column Again

The Lady Tigers tangled with the Lady Dons Thursday night and came away with a little sweet Valentine's Day victory after loosing to West in West by only two points at the buzzer.

Raton started off a little on the slow side trailing early in the game and then wow the right combination fell together and the ball started to fall through the hoop for the Lady Tigers. The girls continued their lead at times pulling out by as much as 20 points.

West not a team to give up easy would make a turnover happen. That often lead to a score and thus closing the deficit on the scoreboard. Yet as the buzzer sounded at the end of the game Raton was the winning team moving their district record up to 3-3 while West dropped to a 2-4.

Raton moves on to Robertson this weekend and will host Taos next weekend to end the regular season.

JV Game
WLV  10  12  27  5  54
Raton   3    6    4  4  17

West High Point
Lovanna Valencha 14 2 of 3 free throws
Free throws 13 of 23 attempts

Raton High Point
Ashley Nuerauter 6  2 of 4 Free throws
Free Throws 5 of 9 attempts

Varsity Game
WLV 12  16  16  14  58
Raton 18  15  20  16  69

West High Point
Michelle Tapia 26 10 of 10 free throws
Free Throws 15 of 21 attempts

Raton High Point
Brylee Medina 22 8 of 9 free throws
Michelle Guara 10 2 of 4 free throws
Mikala Vertovec 16 3 of 10 free throws
Free Throws 14 of 28 attempts

Briana Pais goes up for the lay-up as Sara Gold (20) and Shania Gallegos (55) get in the way during the JV game Thursday night in the Jungle Gym.

Deanna Bustos blocks the way, yet Brylee Medina still makes the shot from the lane during the varsity game Thursday night.

Dominique Zamora and Deanna Bustos tangle on the floor for the ball.

Mikala Vertovec goes up for two of her 16 points

Consentration is key as Mikala Vertovec prepares to put one up at the line

Deanna Bustos gets a hand on the ball as Michelle Guara starts up for a lay-up early in the game Thursday night

Raton has tough night in the Jungle

JV game
WLV 17  17  19  16  69
Raton  8    0  15    7  30

WLV High Point
Anthony Medina 22
Chance Barber  10
Free Throws 3 of 7 attempts

Raton High Point
Jodas Gonzales 15  2 of 2 free throws
Free throws 2 of 5 attempts

Varsity Game
WLV 15  21  20  22  79
Raton 16   9    4  18  47

WLV High Point
Andres Gallegos 11 1 of 2 free throws
Joe Ortiz 24  7 of 9 free throws
Free Throws 13 of 20 attempts

Raton High Point
Mark Hightree 19
Jay Starr 11 1 of 4 free throws
Free Throws 5 of 11 attempts



Raton hosted the West Las Vegas Dons Wednesday night in the Jungle Gym for their second district match of the regular season.

The Tigers came on strong to begin the game and stayed with the Dons until the second quarter where turnovers and a fast paced run and gun game began to wear on the Tigers. Another problem Coach Gilbert San Roman had to deal with was a short bench. The bench consisted of the JV team and he only had a couple of players that could play more than one quarter of the varsity game.

San Roman was also short two varsity players, Caleb Wood and Rashaan Craig who had been benched for discipline issues. With a short bench San Roman wasn't able to substitute his player to keep them rested. As a result the Dons pressure began to force turnovers that lead to scores for West.

When the buzzer sounded it had been a long hard game for Raton and left them 0-5 on the season in district play.

Jodas Gonzales drives for the base line against Devin Medina (23) during the JV game Wednesday night in Tiger Gym.

Jay Starr goes for the short jumper as Lucas Rodriguez slides in behind him to try and block the shot during the varsity game \.

One of the few times Dustin Gonzales was open enough to get a shot off during the varsity game Wednesday night. A strong West defense kept the Tigers from making very many inside shots.

Mark Hightree drives the lane and draws the charging foul putting Mike Ortiz on the floor as he goes up for the lay-up.

Varsity Girls Ground Cardinals

JV Game
Robertson 15  12  21  8  56
Raton        10    2    5  4  21

Robertson High Point
Mary Miller  9 1 of 2 free throws
Caitlin Deifendorf 11 1 of 2 free throws
Free Throws  2 of 6 attempts

Raton High Point
Emily Harrington 10
Free throws 1 of 6 attempts


Varsity Game
Robertson 13  10    7  23  53
Raton        19  16  12  14  61

Robertson High Point
Abbey Bradley 11 3 of 6 free throws
Heather Aragon 15  1 of 2 free throws
Free Throws 10 of 16 attempts

Raton High Point
Mariah Romero 14  1 of 4 free throws
Brylee Medina 10  2 of 3 free throws
Michelle Guara 10  0 for 2 free throws
Mikala Vertovec 16  4 of 6 free throws
Free Throws 12 of 24 attempts

The Varsity game started off with a technical foul for Robertson as they failed to get a player listed in the scorebook, Brylee Medina swooshed those two through to give Raton the lead that they would never relinquish throughout the game.

Both Raton and Robertson had fast breaks during the game but each team could only capitalize on a few of those. At one point in the second quarter it seemed like the girls were playing tennis with each team simply batting a pass away.

Raton however stumbled a little and allowed Robertson to close a 20 point deficit to eight. Good defense and allowed Raton to maintain the lead. The lead however would have been extended if Raton had completed more of the 11 free throws they shot in the fourth quarter. Raton only put in three of those shots.

Ashley Nuerauter and Hannah Lopez make it a tie ball during the JV game Thursday evening.

Mariah Romero goes for the lay-up, one of her 14 points on the night.

Erica Herrera (22) draws the foul as she attempts a block on Brylee Medina (5) goes for the lay-up.

Dominic Zamora attempts to add one more to the score board with only seconds remaining in the fourth quarter thursday night in Tiger Gym.

 

Cardinals Topple Tigers

JV Game
Robertson 13  25  20  23  81
Raton        13  5    23  18  60

Robertson High Point
Francisco Arguello 18  6 of 8 Free Throws
Sebastian Gonzales 12
Michael Salas  10  2of 2 at the line
Free Throws 15 of 26 attempts

Raton High Point
Dylan Query 15  7 of 10 Free Throws
Jodias Gonzales 21  2 of 4 at the line
Free Throws 9 of 15 attempts

Varsity Game
Roberston 20  21  22  24  87
Raton        11  13   8   28  60

Robertson High Point
Ryan Tafoya 36   8 of 12 Free Throws
Joe Mascarenas 15  1 of 3 Free Throws
Free Throws 14 of 24 attempts

Raton High Point
Rashaan Craig 28 13 of 17 Free Throws
Mark Hightree 11
Free Throws 19 of 30 attempts

Robertson came to the Jungle Gym Wednesday night ready to play the run and gun game of basketball. Both Raton teams struggled with turnovers that resulted in Robertson points.

Rebounds also hurt Raton as they were unable to move inside and make the rebounds that could have given them points. Instead Roberston made the rebounds and often times got the fast break to Ryan Tafoya who tipped in 28 points from the field, mostly under the basket.

Jodias Gonzales (23) isnt quite tall enough as Cardinal Fransisco Arguello makes the clean block during the JV game Wednesday night.

Mark Hightree makes it look easy as he goes for the lay-up uncontested early in the game Wednesday night.

Up he goes for the easy shot, Caleb Wood squeezes in and up early on in the varsity game.

Luis Ruiz (2) drives for the inside lane Jalen Martinez (20) tries the block Wednesday night in Tiger Gym.

Another blocked shot by Cardinal Ryan Tafoya as Caleb Wood goes for the short jumper late in the game.

Pojoaque visits for Four Games Saturday

By Marty Mayfield
KRTN Multi-Media

Simply look at the scoring and you will see that Pojoaque dominated the evening of basketball in Tiger gym with the exception of the girls game which Raton won.

Both JV teams struggled with making baskets as well as turnovers. Pojoaque simply played aggressive ball and forced several turnovers.

In the boys varsity game Pojoaque came out with steal after steal and kept Raton from scoring and when they did get close Pojoaque was strong on the boards and Raton rarely got a chance to put the shot back up. Pojoaque also out ran Raton and by the third quarter it was evident that Raton was struggling as they tried to slow the game down but Pojoaque simply made the fast break or stole the ball  and took it to the other end for points.


JV Girls
Pojo   14 19  23  15  71
Raton 10 15    7    4  36

Pojo High Point
Miranda Martinez 11 2 of 2 Free Throws
Natalie Martinez 15 2 of 6 Free Throws
Free Throws 14 of 32 attempts

Raton High Point
Leah Cimino 8
Free Throws  4 of 8 attempts

JV Boys
Pojo  13  11  20  20  64
Raton12    5    4    9  30

Pojo High Point
Jereme Santistevan 10  2of 2 Free Throws
Julian Lujan 10  2 of 4 Free Throws
Free Throws  12 of 21 Attempts

Raton High Point
Dylan Query 12 3 of 3 Free Throws
Mike Vigil 9 3 of 3 Free Throws
Free Throws 7 of 13 Attempts

Varsity Girls
Pojo  12  14  14  12  52
Raton 18 14  12  16  60

Pojo High Point
Cheyenne Cordova 23 1 of 3 Free Throws  4 3-pointers
Free Throws 15 of 26 attempts

Raton High Point
Brylee Medina 14 Free Throws 8 of 11
Michelle Guara 13  Free Throws 3 of 4
Mikala Vertovec 12
Free Throws 17 of 23 attempts

High lights for the game
This was the only game of the evening that was even close with Raton leading most of the game. Pojoaque took an early lead but Raton came back tied it and went on to pull out in front extending their lead to as much as 12 points but never could take a comfortable lead as the Elkettes would rally and close the gap to as little as two points.


Varsity Boys
Pojo   27  20  18  25  90
Raton 11   8   10    4  33

Pojo High Point
Brandon Bustos 12
Free Throws 0 of 4 attempts
All 13 players on the team scored at least 3 points

Raton High Point
Mark Hightree  17  2 of 4 Free Throws
Free Throws 7 of 17 attempts

Rhianna Barela goes for the shot late in the 2nd Quarter of the girls JV game.

Dylan Query up against Pojoaque's biggest JV player Julian Lujan in the fourth quarter of the JV game.

Brylee Medina heded for the lay-up against Elena Rae Lopez who gets a hand on the ball and draws the foul during the varsity game Saturday night in Tiger Gym.

Michelle Guara goes for the lay-up in the second half of the varsity game. The only game  that Raton won Saturday evening.

Brylee Medina at the line looks to add another point to the score board Saturday evening for the Raton win.

Mark Hightree goes for the lay-up Saturday evening during the boys varsity game.

Mark Hightree goes for two more of his 17 points on the night in Tiger Gym.

Red Devils Lasso Cowbell
   Lady Tigers cool Lady Red Devils

Raton basketball teams travelled south to Springer Thursday for a cowbell match up as both the Raton boys and girls had the cowbell after winning them at the Cowbell tourney in Dec.

The Lady Tigers took a quick and early lead and simply never looked back. The Lady Red Devils had a hard time getting started and only managed to get two points in the first quarter. The Lady Red Devils finally got things together in the second but the Lady Tigers continued to dominate and had a 22 point lead at the buzzer.

The boys game however was another matter all together as both teams battled the first quarter before Springer found the chink in the Raton armor and began to pull away. By half time Springer lead the game by nine.

Second half action continued to see Springer whittle away at the clock and slowly expand their lead. The rough and tumble action continued on through the fourth quarter. By the time the buzzer finally sounded to end the game Raton was down by 17 and the sound of the cowbell fell silent for Raton.

Girls Action
Raton    14  12  26  9   61
Springer 2   10  11 16  39


Raton High Point
Tarryn Trujillo 11  0 for 1 at the line
Michelle Guara 16  with 2 of 3 free throws
Free Throws 9 of 19


Springer High Point
Kyra Laumbach 16 and 4 of 5 free throws
Angelica Montoya 7 and 0 for 2 at the line
Free Throws  8 of 19 attempts


Boys Action
Raton     14    8    5  13  40
Springer 16  15  13  13  57

Raton High Point
Rashaan Craig 18  6 of 10 at the line
Free Throws 11 of 27 attempts

Springer High Point
Sam Garcia 19  9 of 13 free throws
Darren Montoya 10  3 of 4 free throws
Joey Wade 10
Free Throws 13 of 25 attempts

Darren Montoya (2) takes the charge from Rashaan Craig (24) while Christian Chavez looks on thursday night in Sim Brown Gym  

Sam Garcia (20) has the edge over Luis Ruiz (2) as they scramble for the long pass down court Thursday night in Springer. 

Sam Garcia beats Luis Ruiz to the ball after chasing down a long pass down court.

Darren Montoya flies through traffic as he goes for the lay-up in the third quarter of Thursday night's game.

Joey Wade slips in behind Rashaan Craig (24) for two of his 10 points on the night

Christian Chavez collects the coveted Cowbell trophy after the Red Devils tame the Tigers Thursday night in Springer by a score of 57-40. 

Raton Beats the Buzzer for Win

JV Game
Trinidad 19  27  14  16  76
Raton     10  13    7    7  37

Trinidad High Point
Billy Vigil 25  3 of 3 free throws
Amilo Arguello  11  3 of 3 free throws
Brandon Aragon  10
Free Throws 10 of 17 attempts

Raton High Point
Jordas Gonzalez 12  2 of 2 free throws
Free Throws 5 of 8 attempts

Varsity Game
Trinidad 15  21  21  19  76
Raton     18  25  22  13  78

Trinidad High Point
Marcus Festi 12  0 for 2 free throws
Chris De Angelis 27  Free Throws 10 of 14 attempts
Jared Hernandez  14  Free throws 2 of 2 attempts
Lane Velarde  11  free throws 1 of 1 attempts
Brandon Aragon 13  free throws 3 of 4 attempts
Free Throws  17 of 28 attempts

Raton High Point
Caleb Wood 19  Free Throws 6 of 9 attempts
Dustin Gonzales 12  Free Throws 1 of 4 attempts
Rashaan Craig 31  Free Throws 12 of 15 attempts
Free Throws  20 of 33 attempts

Raton took an early lead and stayed in front of Trinidad until the middle of the fourth quarter when Trinidad tied the game. Wow what a finish it was as the game sea sawed and was tied again with only 10 seconds on the clock when Chris De Angelis sunk a free throw.

From there Raton made a wild pass that went out of bounds. Trinidad lost the ball on the inbounds pass in a scramble for the ball. A pass down court to Rashaan Craig and scramble to the goal where Craig put one up for two at the buzzer and the win for Raton.

Miner Billy Vigil and Tiger Jodas Gonzalez vie for the ball during the JV game in Raton Tuesday night.

Keanu Barela tries to go around Malachi Baca during the JV game in Raton Tuesday night.

Miner Devon Payne gets in front of Mark Hightree as he goes up for the lay-up in the first quarter of the Raton Trinidad game in raton Tuesday night. 

 

Rashaan Craig at the free throw line, he makes the shot to go ahead by two.

Rashaan Craig goes for the lay-up and puts the ball in for two at the buzzer for the win Tuesday night in Tiger Gym.