Basketball Recap: Dynamic Duo of Tay Wheat and Trey Hall Lead Montezuma-Cortez to Victory

Montezuma-Cortez had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 11.5 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. They came out on top against the Monte Vista Pirates by a score of 76-65. That's more bragging rights for the Panthers, who also won the pair's last head-to-head.

Montezuma-Cortez was led to victory by Trey Hall and Tay Wheat. Hall dropped a double-double on 18 points and 11 boards, while Wheat went 8 of 14 on his way to 21 points and five steals. That's the most rebounds Hall has posted since back in December of 2023. Asher Bennetts was another key player, putting up four points and six boards.

Montezuma-Cortez smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in six consecutive matches.

Monte Vista's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Azariah Hurtado, who dropped a double-double on 22 points and ten rebounds, and Alex Marquez, who went 7 for 13 en route to 21 points. That was a full 33.8% of Monte Vista's points, marking the eighth time in a row he's posted more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Darrien Archuleta, who had eight points.

Montezuma-Cortez has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five games, which provided a nice bump to their 12-4 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 65.6 points per game. As for Monte Vista, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 8-5 record this season.

Montezuma-Cortez wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next matchup, a 59-54 victory against Bayfield on the 1st. Monte Vista has also already played their next game, a 63-48 loss against Ignacio on the 1st.