Staff Report
Chaves County Sports Report
MESCALERO — Valley Christian Academy’s boys made it look easy in Mescalero Monday, taking advantage of an “odd” Chiefs lineup to win 53-18.
With some players benched early for team infractions, Mescalero (2-12, 0-5) couldn’t match the Lions (13-6, 4-2) at any point. Valley led 8-4 after one, 27-11 at the half and 45-13 after three.
Gus Gray led the Lions with 17 points despite only playing until about halfway through the third quarter, when he was elbowed in the forehead and cut. While he was being tended to, Jared Visser and Billy Kolker came in off the bench and picked up the slack.
“They did a real good job on the perimeter, along with Tyler Rainey,” said coach Randall Lyons. “We didn’t ease up defensively or anything like that. We did a good job defensively tonight.”
Adding to the offense were Lane Vander Hulst with 16 and Taylor Line with 15, and even though he only played a little more than a half, Gray tallied eight assists, following nine in Tatum.
“That’s a high number of assists for a game,” Lyons said, calling Gray’s effort “exceptional.”
The Lady Lions (3-12, 1-5) had a somewhat tougher night, falling 63-34 to the Lady Chiefs (13-7, 4-2).
Valley kept things close until fouls began to take their toll, with the Lions ending the game with only four players on the court.
“It was kind of lopsided, but when you have four players and they have five and they’re still pressing and attacking, it’s not going to be fun,” Lyons said.
Valley hosts Lake Arthur Tuesday then closes out the regular season Friday at home vs. Gateway.
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