Panthers bounce back against Hawks

The Peñasco Panthers bounced back on Monday (Jan. 23) against the Laguna Acoma Hawks, winning 55-46 after losing their homecoming game 61-52 to the visiting McCurdy Bobcats in Saturday’s district duel.

The game against the Hawks was shaping up similarly to that of the homecoming game, relatively close through three quarters of action. In that previous match, the Panthers held a onepoint lead against the Bobcats before getting outscored 17-6 in the fourth quarter.

This time around, the Panthers had the finishing touch to get some slight separation from their opponents and then hold on to that lead.

Tied 38-38 near the start of the fourth, Elias Archibeque repositioned himself from the left wing to the right wing, where Jeremiah Martinez found him wide open for the spot up catchand-shoot three-pointer. A Kaileb Atencio steal and layup after the make increased their lead to 43-38.

Then, Curtis Paytiamo of Laguna Acoma knocked down a three-pointer to make it 43-41

and forced a timeout. After the timeout, Dylan Lopez was able to get good inside position in the post. Once the Hawks gambled on the entry pass, Lopez converted on the open layup, 45-41.

Peñasco was aggressive playing the passing lanes and that helped them get deflections and steals leading to points in transition. Donnivan Aguilar contributed on the defensive end for the Panthers with several blocks in the second half. Playing against the zone, the Hawks mostly settled for jump shots, but the shooting went cold for them in the fourth quarter.

Martinez manages to make at least one highlight-worthy play once a game. This time around, it was a behind-the-back dribble with two Hawks on his flanks while driving to the basket. He used the fancy dribble to dish it to Lopez who missed the fadeaway field goal and what would have been a stylish assist.

Drives to the basket by Archibeque and Martinez in the final two minutes put the game to bed. A foul on Seth Barger’s three-point attempt gave Laguna Acoma the chance to get back into it, but the repeated misfires from the Hawks from beyond the arc gave Peñasco the 55-46 victory.