Magdalena Steers advance to quarterfinals

The #7 seed Magdalena Steers extended their winning streak to 10 games by holding off a late run by #10 seed Springer to hold on to a tight 50-48 victory.

Springer took an early 12-8 lead by the end of the first quarter. Then #0 Zeb Apachito scored five in the second quarter to help give the Steers a 23-22 lead at halftime. 

A great third quarter for the Steers saw them up by as many as nine points and finishing the quarter with a 37-33 lead. Magdalena was up by nine points again with 3:09 left in the fourth quarter, 44-35. That’s when the Springer Red Devils threatened with momentum of their own.

Springer scored four unanswered points to make it 44-39 with 2:00 left and then tied it up at 48-48 with 21.8 seconds left. #13 Shane Montoya took advantage of a trip to the free throw line to gain a two-point lead with five seconds left. A timeout by the Red Devils gave them one more chance with a throw-in from their own sideline and 3.2 seconds on the clock, but the desperate 3-point attempt was off-mark and the Steers claimed the victory. 

Brothers #15 Ky and #21 Kanaan Stephens each finished with 14 points, Apachito had eight and Montoya scored seven in the win.

“We are very excited to be able to continue on in the state tournament,” Head Coach Jory Mirabal said. “This group of boys has worked hard and put themselves in position to win a 13th consecutive district championship and move on to the quarterfinals of the state tournament, when a month or two ago the only people that thought that was possible were those people in the locker room.”

Magdalena advances to play against #2 seed Fort Sumner/House on Wednesday, March 11, at 3 p.m. at Bernalillo High School. The Steers lost to the Fort Sumner/House Foxes at home on Jan. 1. However, the Steers have been on a roll since then with 15 wins and only two losses, and this much improved Magdalena team is confident and ready for the rematch.

“They have improved as much or more than any team I have been around and they love working hard together and playing for each other,” Mirabal said.

The Steers have a 19-9 overall record, 7-1 in their district, and beat Cliff for a third time this season on Feb. 28 to win their District Championship.