On Saturday evening, New Mexico Military hosted Goddard High for their last non-district game of the year. With the 39-36 loss, the Colts dip to 11-8 while Goddard improves to an overall mark of 8-12 with a 1-0 record in district play.

Q1

Early on, NMMI jumped out to a quick 4-0, which was quickly pushed to a 7-0 advantage following a three by Lorenzo Peral. The next possession, the Rockets responded with a three of their own to make it a 7-3 game.

Up by four, the Colts went on a quick 7-2 run to extend their lead and end the first period with a 15-5 lead. Peral tallied all of his eight points in the first period, shooting 3-for-5 in the process. Sawyer Hull also knocked down a three in the first eight minutes to put the Colts ahead by double digits.

Q2

Up by 10, Carper Lackey grew the lead with a bucket off an assist by Peral. However, Goddard seemed to flip a switch as they used the quarter to conduct an 18-4 run and head into halftime with a slight 23-21 lead.

Q3

In the third quarter, NMMI was able to knot the game at 23-23 after Diego Martinez sunk both free throws. In the next possessions both team would trade buckets. The Colts, although trailing, were able to stay close as they answered every bucket made by the Rockets. In the eight minutes of action in the third, Goddard outscored the Colts 10-7 as they headed into the fourth quarter down 33-28.

Q4

Down by five, NMMI was just unable to complete the comeback as they held Goddard to just six total points. Scoring eight of their own, Cole Seidenberger scored half of the teams’ fourth-quarter points as he tallied four points – all coming from the free throw line.

With about 30 seconds remaining, Sawyer Hull made it a 37-36 ballgame after scoring a driving layup for the Colts.  Trying to get the Rockets to miss at the free throwline, NMMI fouled to get an extra possession but Goddard ended the game making the final four shots at the free throw line to secure the 39-36 win over the Colts.

Lorenzo Peral led the Colts with eight points, while Cole Seidenberger finished right behind him with seven points. On the glass, Xavier Johnson finished with six total rebounds – a game high. As a team, NMMI shot 40 percent from the field while going 2-for-8 from downtown.

Head Coach Connor Williamson on the loss, “there was some good moments especially early in the game but we just lost that momentum,” Williamson said. “As we head into district we hope to be on an up.”  

The Colts return to the court on Tuesday, Feb. 4 as they take on Ruidoso High in the district opener at 6:30 pm MST in Ruidoso, NM.