Academy for Technology and The Classics waltzed into their match on Tuesday with six straight wins but they left with seven. They walked away with a 54-45 win over Escalante. Given Academy for Technology and The Classics' advantage in MaxPreps' New Mexico basketball rankings (they are ranked 20th, while Escalante is ranked 67th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Academy for Technology and The Classics' win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Rocky Miller, who scored 20 points along with seven rebounds. Another player making a difference was Julian Bernardino, who scored 22 points.
Escalante lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Luka Torrez, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 12 rebounds. Torrez is absolutely dominating the rebound category: he's posted at least eight every time he's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Damien Baeza, who scored 11 points along with two steals.
Even though they lost, Escalante smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Academy for Technology and The Classics only pulled down seven offensive rebounds.
Academy for Technology and The Classics' win was their tenth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-2. As for Escalante, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 8-6.
Academy for Technology and The Classics will head out on the road to take on Texico at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. Texico is coming into the contest on a three-game losing streak. As for Escalante, they will be playing at home against Dulce at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
