The Bobcats had nine of their 11 players hit the court after finishing the football season last week, and they managed to squeak by East Mountain 57-49 in Memorial Gymnasium on Friday.

McCurdy reached the Class A state semifinals before losing to Fort Sumner on Nov. 14, then started its Basketball season against a familiar figure in Northern New Mexico Basketball. The Timberwolves are coached by former St. Michael's head boys Basketball coach Matt Pribble, who guided the program to two Class AAA state titles.

Bobcats head coach Fil Dominguez knew what to expect.

"Coach Pribble is doing an excellent job with them and I knew they'd play us tough," Dominguez said. "He's really turned them around. They got to within three points of us in the fourth quarter."

McCurdy toughened up on defense down the stretch. Dominguez credited

6-foot freshman Gavin Cata for harassing the Timberwolves' 6-3 post, Erik Alberts.

"He played him pretty physical and pushed him around a little bit and held him in check," Dominguez said.

Isaac Montoya led McCurdy with 18 points, while Kevin Redman scored 13.

Mesilla Valley Christian 74,

Santa Fe Preparatory 50

The Blue Griffins were not equipped with GPS devices. It would have helped on opening night of the Bosque Tournament in Albuquerque.

"They ran on us pretty good," Chris Chakeres, Santa Fe Prep head coach, said. "We were losing our man in transition."

That defensive lapse allowed the Son Blazers to extend a 16-11 lead after one quarter to 30-21 at halftime. The gap grew to 51-35 entering the fourth quarter.

Santa Fe Prep turned over the ball

19 times. But, the Blue Griffins shot better than 50 percent from the floor.

"We're starting to gain a little better understanding of ball movement and shot selection," Chakeres said.

Joel Van Essen poured in 31 points for the Blue Griffins (0-1). Ryan Romero finished with eight.

For Mesilla Valley (2-0), Greg Patti and Scott Adler evenly divided 32 points. Cody Correa followed with 15.

AT THE EAGLE CLASSIC

Bosque School JV 51,

Desert Academy 42

Despite seeing miscues, Daniel Romero also is seeing progress.

"We just need to not make the same mistakes over and over again," Romero, the Desert Academy head coach, said. "But we're seeing progress."

The loss dropped the Wildcats to 0-3, but there's still hope for a shot at redemption. Should Desert Academy beat New Life at 9 a.m. today, there will be a rematch vs. Bosque School JV at 1:30 for fifth place.

The Wildcats led 17-12 after one quarter, but trailed 28-25 at half and never recovered.

"We're just making a lot of mental mistakes and aren't playing up to our potential right now," Romero said. "But it's early, and everyone makes mistakes at the beginning of the season."

Jeremy Upsal led the Wildcats with

16 and Alex Kokesh added 13.

Steven Melchor had 21 for Bosque School and Ben Schoziel had 16.

Evangel Christian 62,

New Mexico School for the Deaf 48

The Roadrunners could not overcome a slow start in a semifinal of the Eagle Classic at Evangel Christian Academy in Albuquerque.

The Eagles parlayed a 21-9 first-quarter advantage into a spot in the championship. The Roadrunners (1-2) play for third place.

Justin Vaughan scored 17 points and Joey Huerta added 16 for NMSD, which trailed 26-20 at halftime and 43-30 at the end of the third quarter. Mark Lucero grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds in the loss.

GIRLS Basketball

AT THE EAGLE CLASSIC

Desert Academy 56,

Santa Fe Waldorf 16

The Lady Wildcats were aggressive on defense from the outset, and for good reason.

"When you're the aggressors, referees tend not to call as many fouls on you," Desert Academy head coach Natalie Passalacqua said. "That makes a big difference."

Desert Academy (2-1) led 17-2 after a quarter and 33-8 at the half.

Corine Garcia scored 26 points, while Maredith Davis had 12.

The Lady Wildcats play New Life Baptist in the fifth-place game at noon today.

Evangel Christian 36, NMSD 30

Fouls were a problem for the Lady Roadrunners in a semifinal of the Evangel Christian Tournament.

Three players fouled out for New Mexico School for the Deaf, while another three were saddled with four fouls through the fourth quarter.

The Lady Roadrunners (2-1) led 25-17 at the half.

Katie Velasquez led NMSD with 13 points and four rebounds. Karina Mitchell finished with eight points and 12 rebounds.