Peter Dindinger — NMMI Sports Press
Ranked No. 5 in Class 3A, the New Mexico Military Institute Colt boys’ basketball team capped off the regular season with their first district title since 1995.
NMMI came away with a 61-39 victory over District 4-3A rival Dexter on Thursday night at the Godfrey Athletic Center.
“It feels really good. This is a really fun group of guys, got some really good seniors,” said NMMI head coach Connor Williamson after the game. “It’s been a great year so far and we’re looking to keep it going.”
The Colts jumped out to an 11-5 lead with 3:18 in the opening quarter.
Ricardo Mata recorded seven points in the first frame while Dexter’s Manny Fuentez scored all of his team’s seven points.
Holding a 16-7 lead, NMMI got a pair of three-pointers from Nolan Otis and Daniel Xibille to outscore the Demons 14-8 in the second quarter.
The Colts landed four shots from beyond the arc in the first half.
Mata had 11 points at the break while Otis had eight points and a pair of three-pointers.
Everything was falling into place for NMMI on offense as it outscored the Demons 16-7 in the third quarter to lead by 22.
Mata tallied seven points in the third frame.
The three-point shots began to fall for Dexter in the final quarter as it made three. Fuentez had two three-pointers to help his team narrowly outscore NMMI, 17-15.
Mata led all scorers with 20 points, four assists and two rebounds while Xibille chipped in with 16 points and four boards.
Otis finished with 11 points.
NMMI had 10 assists with Carlen Hailey tallying four. The Colts shot 4 of 7 from the free throw line.
Dexter managed to out rebound the Colts 28-18. Marco Munoz had a double-double with 11 points and 12 boards.
Fuentez led the Demons with 13 points. Dexter went 5 for 9 from the charity stripe.
The Colts are riding a six-game winning streaking heading into the postseason. The seeding for the state tournament will be announced by the New Mexico Activities Association on Saturday.
“I have no idea where we’re going to end up. Obviously, we’re hoping for a top four seed that gets us home advantage, but we’re going to take whatever we can get,” Williamson said.
NMMI 61, Dexter 39
Dexter (2-5, 1-2)
Manny Fuentez 5 1-1 13, Marco Munoz 4 2-4 11, Joshua Duran 2 1-2 5, Juan Fuentes 3 1-2 8, Angel Aguirre 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 5-9 39.
NMMI (8-3, 3-0)
Ricardo Mata 9 1-2 20, Carlen Hailey 2 0-0 4, Daniel Xibille 6 3-3 16, Jose Donnadieu 3 0-0 6, Rolan Parscal 2 0-2 4, Nolan Otis 5 0-0 11. Totals 26 4-7 61.
Dexter……….7……8……..7…..17 -- 39
NMMI………..16….14……16…..15 --- 61
3-point goals – Dexter 4 (Fuentez 2, Munoz, Fuentes); NMMI 4 (Mata, Xibille, Nolan Otis 3). Rebounds — Dexter 28, NMMI 18. Assists — Dexter 5, NMMI 10. Total fouls – Dexter 9, NMMI 12. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – Dexter (Fuentez).