The Tri-City Basketball Tournament gets underway Thursday at Pecos High School with four opening round games.

Penasco and Mora will tip things off a 1. The Rangers and Panthers met back on December 18 with Mora coming away with an 67-66 win, in Penasco.

Penasco will be led by seniors Matthew Vigil and Zach Romero, while Mora counters with Matthew Romero and Troy Romero.

The winner of the Penasco contest will meet the winner of the 3:00 game featuring a pair of 1A and district rival schools, Cimarron and Springer.  

Cimarron is entering 2-3, while Springer (7-0) is coming off a first place finish at the Cowbell Tournament. The Red Devils handed defending state champ Mesilla Valley one of their two season loses thus far, a 65-52 setback at the Orange and Black Tournament in Clayton, earlier this season.

The bottom bracket will feature Santa Rosa (5-1) and Escalante (1-6).

Santa Rosa’s lone loss came at the hands of Navajo Pine, 59-44, at the Tularosa basin Tournament. Since then, the Lions have reeled off four consecutive wins over Mescelero, Dora, Pecos and Melrose.

Escalante’s lone victory came against Antonito, Colorado High School, 67-56. Devin Montoya and Adrian Trujillo look to lead the Lobos.

The nightcap features host Pecos (3-3) and Ft. Sumner.
After starting the season 2-0, the Panthers lost to Tohatchi at the Sandia Prep Tournament, then lost leading scorer Tim Baca. Baca has since returned to score 15 points against Mesa vista, in a losing effort. The Panthers will look to break a tow game losing streak against the Foxes. Ft. Sumner is entering the tournament at 5-0.

Action will continue through Saturday with the championship scheduled for 7:15 p.m.