Peter Dindinger — NMMI Sports Press
Riding a two-game winning streak, the New Mexico Military Institute Colts had a chance to notch a quality win over the Hagerman Bobcats, Class 2A’s second-best team, on Wednesday night.
The Colts overcame a 10-point deficit as Juan Ruelas hit the game-tying three-pointer just before time expired in the fourth quarter.
Unfortunately, NMMI couldn’t finish strong in the first overtime period as the Bobcats came away with the 56-41 win at the Godfrey Athletic Center.
“A good game for us as far as being that close, sending it to overtime with a buzzer-beater three,” said NMMI head coach Connor Williamson. “This is a great moment for us. Obviously, it’s salty the way that it ended, but I think there’s a lot of positives to take away from this game.
“We definitely proved that we have improved as a team. Even though the score wasn’t what we wanted, it was still a positive game for us.”
It was a slow start for both teams as the first bucket was made three minutes into the opening quarter when Abel Alvidrez made one of two free throws.
The Bobcats went on a 5-0 run from that point until NMMI landed its first bucket of the game with a two-pointer from Matthew McCargish with 4:36 on the clock.
McCargish tallied all of NMMI’s five points in the opening quarter.
Trailing by 10, the Colts cut the deficit with a three from Humberto Romero with 6:31 in the second quarter.
McCargish then landed another shot in the paint to put NMMI behind by five.
The Colts trailed by seven at halftime. Romero and McCargish led NMMI with six points while Roberto Delacruz had 12 points for the Bobcats.
Two free throws made by David Chacon extended Hagerman’s lead back to 10 with 4:33 in the third quarter.
Four quick points by McCargish and a pair of two-pointers by Emilio Herrera and Ruelas put the Colts within three with 2:19 to go.
Sebastian Mireles hit a shot to give the Bobcats a five-point lead at the end of three.
To start the final quarter, Hagerman had a turnover that led to a bucket by Romero to cut the deficit back down to three.
Romero then knocked down two 3-pointers to start a 6-0 run that gave NMMI a three-point lead.
Mireles put Hagerman behind by one with a two-pointer with 6:21 on the clock.
The Bobcats later tied the game at 34-all before NMMI gained a two-point lead with a two-pointer by McCargish that came off an assist by Herrera.
Hagerman answered back when Chacon made a shot and was fouled to get three points that gave his team a 37-36 lead.
Bejarano then made a shot in the paint to give the Bobcats a three-point lead with 2:29 left in regulation.
The Bobcats had an opportunity to take a lead and pull away with the win, but they missed some key shots down the stretch.
Chacon missed a two-pointer that was rebounded by Lance Miller, which allowed Ruelas to hit the corner three to send the game into overtime.
Hagerman began the period on a 6-0 run to end up outscoring the Colts 17-2.
NMMI also had three key players foul out of the contest.
Romero, McCargish and Ruelas combined for 39 points. Romero led the way with 15 points as he knocked down four shots from beyond the arc.
McCargish had 14 points before exiting the game with five fouls. He also grabbed seven rebounds. Ruelas added with 10 points and six rebounds.
NMMI finished shooting 6 of 10 from the free throw line.
The Bobcats out rebounded the Colts 41-37 while going 14 of 24 from the charity stripe.
Chacon tallied a double-double to lead all scorers with 20 points and 12 rebounds while Delacruz chipped in with 14 points.
>> UP NEXT: NMMI hosts Loving at 12 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 12 before hitting the road for three games in Tucumcari, Dexter and Portales to close out the regular season.
Hagerman 56, NMMI 41 (OT)
HAGERMAN (17-2)
Sebastian Mireles 4 1-4 9, Roberto Delacruz 6 0-0 14, Abel Alvidrez 0 1-2 1, Doryan Galvan 2 0-1 4, Jonah Bejarano 2 4-6 8, David Chacon 6 8-9 20. Totals 20 14-24 56.
NMMI (4-10)
Juan Ruelas 3 3-3 10, Emilio Herrera 1 0-1 2, Matthew McCargish 6 2-3 14, Humberto Romero 5 1-2 15. Totals 15 6-10 41.
HAGER………15……9…..7….8….17 --- 56
NMMI………..5……12….9….13….2 --- 41
3-point goals – NMMI 5 (Romero 4, Ruelas); Hagerman 2 (Delacruz 2). Rebounds — NMMI 26 (Jose Donnadieu 9, McCargish 7); Hagerman 41 (Chacon 12, Mireles 7, Amen Gonzales 7). Assists — NMMI 12 (Herrera 5); Hagerman 4 (Delacruz, Galvan, Bejarano, Eric Vargas). Total fouls – Hagerman 15, NMMI 20. Fouled out – NMMI (Donnadieu, McCargish, Herrera). Technical fouls – None.