AZTEC – The prep basketball tournament portion of the schedule is in full swing once again this week, with Aztec High School welcoming in teams from across the region to its annual Rumble In The Jungle Tournament at Lillywhite Gym.
Boys and girls teams from Durango and Shiprock Northwest will be joined by Colorado teams from Ignacio and Cortez as well as schools from across northwest New Mexico like Belen, Tohatchi and Grants.
The Aztec High boys basketball team opens its participation in the Rumble in the Jungle tournament with a home game against Shiprock Northwest Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
The Tigers are off to a 1-5 start to the season, with its lone win coming in an 81-53 consolation round romp last weekend against Cottonwood Classical Prep in the Al Armendariz Tournament at Capital High School.
Aztec lost its most recent game in a tough 65-63 decision against Bernalillo on Saturday, finishing fifth in the tournament.
Coached by Ryan Dee, the Tigers are looking for their first winning season in nearly a decade. Aztec finished the 2010-11 season with a record of 16-9 before being eliminated in the opening round of the Class 4A state tournament. Since that time, the Tigers have gone 13 seasons in a row without a winning record.
Shiprock Northwest has a record of 1-2 this season. The Falcons scored a second-round consolation bracket win in the Chieftain Invitational at Shiprock High School against Montezuma-Cortez by a score of 39-33.
Rumble In The Jungle Boys Opening Round Games
Thursday
10:30 a.m. Bloomfield vs. Bayfield
1:30 p.m. Ignacio vs. Tohatchi
4:30 p.m. Durango vs. Robertson
7:30 p.m. Aztec vs. Shiprock Northwest
The boys tournament action opens at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday when Bloomfield tangles with Bayfield. The Bobcats are playing in their first tournament of the current season and recently had their three-game win streak snapped last Thursday at Taos. Bloomfield (3-2) is led on the court by sophomore Elijah Cooks and senior Xavier Abernathy, both averaging in double digit scoring this season.
Bayfield (1-1) opened the season earlier this month with a win at home over Piedra Vista before losing its next game, falling 57-33 at Durango. Following their participation in the Rumble In The Jungle Tournament, the Wolverines open the new calendar year with a pair of road trips to Shiprock and Aztec.
Durango will open its tournament play Thursday at 4:30 p.m. when they face Robertson. The Demons (4-1) are coming off a third-place finish in the Marv Sanders Memorial Invitational Tournament last weekend at Farmington High. After winning the opening game of the tournament against Kirtland Central, Durango was dropped a 68-60 decision to eventual tournament champion Maryvale (Ariz.) on Friday.
Durango capped the tournament with a 49-38 win on Saturday against Canon City. Senior Noah Myles and junior Brady Hoerl each had strong performances in last week’s tournament.
After dropping the first two games of the season, Robertson enters the Rumble in the Jungle on a three-game win streak, including road victories at Valencia and Taos. The Cardinals will lean on senior Jesse Gonzalez and freshman George Smith to aid their offensive attack.
Ignacio is looking for their third win of the season when they open tournament play against winless Wingate on Thursday at 1:30 p.m.
The Aztec girls basketball team, coming off a 1-2 run in last week’s Marv Sanders Invitational Tournament, will be in action this week at Lillywhite Gym when they open the Lady Tiger Rumble in the Jungle with a showdown against Shiprock Northwest on Thursday at 9 a.m.
Aztec lost a 44-43 heartbreaker to Monument Valley in the opening round of the Sanders Invitational before beating Shiprock in a second round game. The Tigers closed out the tournament losing to Durango by a score of 36-23.
Coached by Bill McLaughlin, Aztec has a record of 4-3 this season and are led on the court by junior Jazzlyn Gomez and sophomore Khloe Schmidt.
Shiprock Northwest shows a record of just 0-1 this season according to Maxpreps.
The Durango High girls basketball team will play the late game on Thursday, facing Wingate with a start time of 6 p.m. The Demons had a strong run in the Sanders Invitational last weekend, finishing with a record of 2-1 after a tough overtime loss to Volcano Vista in the opening round. Durango rolled over Maryvale, Ariz. before winning the fifth place game by beating Aztec 36-23.
Wingate comes into the tournament with a record of 4-3 so far this season but are coming off a loss last weekend in tournament action against Thoreau.
Rumble In The Jungle Girls Opening Round Games
Thursday
9 a.m. Aztec vs. Shiprock Northwest
Noon Cortez vs. Grants
3 p.m. Ignacio vs. Belen
6 p.m. Durango vs. Wingate
Montezuma-Cortez High School’s girls basketball team will face off against Grants at noon on Thursday. The Panthers (1-2) are coming off back-to-back losses in tournament play earlier this month. The Pirates, with a record of 2-4 this season, are coming off a narrow 35-34 loss last week at home against Bloomfield. Senior Amy Salazar is averaging 12 points a night for Grants.
Belen, coming off a 1-2 run in the Capital Tournament last weekend, enter the tournament with a record of 2-4. The Eagles will face off against Ignacio on Thursday at 3 p.m.
