PREP BASKETBALL
Del Norte's boys are hitting their stride
Knights may have eight losses but they're on the rise, rolling through Academy
There are, to be sure, a couple of ways to interpret these Del Norte Knights.
There is an eight-loss team whose record, on the surface, would suggest that they are a middle-of-the-pack Class 4A boys basketball team.
But the flip side of that coin is the version that appeared Tuesday night; the team coach Jeron McIntosh said back in November was the best team he鈥檚 ever had at Del Norte; a team that has shown it can play with anyone.
鈥淭hat,鈥� McIntosh said after his fourth-ranked Knights stomped visiting sixth-ranked Albuquerque Academy 67-47 in a District 6-4A matchup, 鈥渋s the best we鈥檝e played all year, by far.鈥�
This was a 20-point margin that wasn鈥檛 as close as the final score.
Del Norte (11-8, 2-0) owned the game from the start, dismantling a fairly accomplished team from Academy (12-7, 1-2).
Six of the Knights鈥� eight losses came to 5A opponents, and six of those eight losses are by five or fewer points.
鈥淲e鈥檝e always felt great, since the beginning of the season,鈥� said senior guard Francois Satchivi, who pumped in 27 points Tuesday in the victory. 鈥淚t was just closing out games, but we鈥檙e starting to figure it out.鈥�
McIntosh said his team seems to be turning the corner, when you factor in last Tuesday鈥檚 three-point loss to second-ranked Highland, and this result.
鈥淲e鈥檙e starting to hit our stride,鈥� he said.
Two district matchups against Hope Christian figure to determine how the top of the league standings shake out. The two met twice in December, at the Academy tournament and then again at Rio Rancho鈥檚 event, and have split.
The first meeting in district occurs Feb. 4.
Tuesday, 6-foot-5 senior forward Mumin Omer scored 10 points in the first quarter, part of the Knights鈥� quick start.
Satchivi began to heat up in the second quarter, with 12 points, and then 10 more in the third quarter.
鈥淎nd,鈥� McIntosh said, 鈥淚 think what helped today is we had other guys making shots so they couldn鈥檛 key in on Francois.鈥�
Meanwhile, Academy鈥檚 big man, 6-10 Hunter Aime, was carrying the load for as long as he could, and scored 15 of the Chargers鈥� 22 first-half points.
Del Norte鈥檚 balance and precision from the arc allowed the Knights to pull away in the second half. They led by as many as 27 before pulling all their starters with 4陆 minutes left.
鈥淲e鈥檙e practicing better, we鈥檙e maturing a little bit, and just working harder, and all that is a good combination,鈥� McIntosh said. The team鈥檚 new faces, he added, contributed to a slower start than expected.
Omer added 18 points for Del Norte. Aime finished with 17 for the Chargers.
James Yodice covers prep sports for the Journal. You can reach him at jyodice@abqjournal.com or via X at .
