ESPAÑOLA — There will be a new king of the Northern Rio Grande Tournament. Pecos' four-year reign as tournament champion came to an end Friday night at the hands of a familiar foe. The Mora Rangers held the Panthers to 12-for-55 shooting to fashion a 45-34 win in the tournament's opening semifinal in Española Valley's Edward Medina Gymnasium.
The win also ended the Panther's 10-year run of reaching the championship game. The Rangers will take on District 5-2A foe Mesa Vista in a 7 p.m.
Saturday championship game after the Trojans held off McCurdy's rally from a 30-16 deficit to win 66-50 in the late semifinal. Saturday will an even bigger day for Rangers head coach Manuel Romero, who also will be inducted into the Northern Rio Grande Tournament Hall of Fame. On top of that, he gets a chance to win the tournament title at his alma mater for the first time since the 2004-05 team did it.
"Why not make [Saturday] worth it, 20 years later?" Romero said. "Getting inducted into the NRG Hall of Fame and playing for a championship." Mesa Vista head coach Thomas Vigil is seeking his second Northern Rio Grande title with his alma mater.
He last won one 16 years ago. Still, he knows Romero is laser focused on making the night a special one — at his and the Trojans' expense. "I'm sure he's got a dartboard with 'Mesa Vista' on it," Vigil said.
"We haven't had more than a two-possession game with Mora over the past two years. So it will come down to those last few possessions." And .
