You can't lose the game if you win every quarter, and that was precisely the Highland Hornets's strategy against the Valencia Jaguars on Friday. Highland took down the Jaguars 61-44. Given Highland's advantage in MaxPreps' New Mexico basketball rankings (they are ranked seventh, while the Jaguars are ranked 48th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Highland to victory, but perhaps none more so than Jesus Licon, who scored 19 points along with eight rebounds and three steals. Licon is crushing the point category: he's posted at least 15 every time he's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Raul Stanford, who scored 12 points along with seven assists and five rebounds.
Several Jaguars players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Diego Baeza, who scored 15 points along with six rebounds. It was the first time this season that Baeza scored 15 or more points. Jorge Zuniga was another key contributor, scoring 13 points along with seven rebounds.
Highland has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 16-5 record this season. As for Valencia, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 11-10.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Highland will take on the Sartans at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. St. Pius X has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 196 points over their last three matches. As for Valencia, they will head out on the road to challenge the Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Belen is coming into the matchup on a four-game losing streak.
