Organ Mountain (7-5) earned a big 58-35 win against Los Lunas (4-10) at home Tuesday evening. The win snaps a two-game losing streak for the Knights obtained during last week’s games against Roswell and EspanĚola Valley.
Organ Mountain started strong on both ends and built a double-digit lead it would maintain for the entire game. The Knights’ defense held the Tigers scoreless until a buzzer-beater three as time expired in the first quarter and took a 16-3 lead. Organ Mountain also had a strong second quarter capped off by multiple dunks on offense, including from senior forward Ethan Pack, and led 31-14 at halftime.
The Knights allowed only six Los Lunas points in the third quarter and scored 14 themselves to extend their lead to 45-20. The Tigers outscored Organ Mountain 15-13 in the fourth quarter, but Organ Mountain already had a comfortable lead and closed out its victory by a large margin.
Pack led the Knights with 14 points. Senior guard Ray Venegas and senior forward Julian Gonzales also contributed with nine points each, with Venegas draining one of three Organ Mountain’s 3-pointers for the evening.
Knights coach Randy McBroom says his team could’ve played better offensively, but praised the defensive efforts that led to the win.
“Our goal was to come out and get back to our true identity, which is defense,” McBroom said. “We wanted to play with toughness and grit, and we did that. They had a hard time scoring… Our kids, they bought into what we’re selling, and that was grit and toughness, and they played with a whole bunch of it tonight.”
McBroom also praised Organ Mountain’s tenacity, crediting his players with being more willing to do the “dirty work.”
“How many guys out there tonight did you see on the floor after loose balls? How many guys took charges? How many guys were rotating and taking each other,” McBroom said. “That’s a team thing. It was toughness and grit.”
The Knights have been battle-tested in a tough non-district schedule so far this season, one of the toughest in all of New Mexico. In addition to Roswell, Organ Mountain has faced three other current top-10 teams in MaxPreps’ New Mexico high school basketball rankings in Cleveland, Hobbs and Atrisco Heritage. The Knights defeated the Storm, fell to the Eagles and faced the Jaguars twice, splitting the matchups.
McBroom said Los Lunas was similarly tough to beat, and Organ Mountain earned a win over them they needed to get back on track.
“With everything we’ve done and with what we’re working towards, we still have a lot of room to grow,” McBroom said. “Probably more room to grow than most teams out there.”
Next, the Knights will stay at home to face Carlsbad (9-3) at 7 p.m. Friday and Clovis (7-7) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Organ Mountain is currently first place in District 3-5A.
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