Championship Friday

It should be an exciting night with the two biggest rivalries in the North to take place at the same time.

District 2AAA championship
Pojoaque at St. Michael's

District 2AAAA championship
Los Alamos at Española Valley

Both games will start at 7 p.m., but get to Perez-Shelley Gymnasium and Edward Medina Gymnasium early. I can't emphasize this enough.

EARLY!!

Tickets will go on sale at 4 p.m. at Española, and at 6 p.m. at St. Michael's. I would expect the lines to be long and - in the case of the 2AAA championship - some people will get shut out of the gym.
Either way, get out there and witness what should be two gems.

If you're curious about my predictions, here they are:

District 2AAAA championship
Everything points to a Sundevils win. They have the home court advantage, they've won their last five games and they have stronger, more composed guards. That said, the games have come down to the wire, and this will be no exception.
If 6-foot-11 post Alex Kirk gets 30, Los Alamos wins by 6.
If Kirk gets under 25, Española wins by 4.
Anything in between means it'll be decided by a last-second shot. It just depends on who has the ball last.

District 2AAA championship
The Elks have never been closer to breaking their Horsemen hex. Two overtime losses - the last on a controversial last-second basket - show how even these teams are. Don't expect a game in the 50s, and maybe even not in the 40s. This will be a taught, defensive struggle, and those usually suggest that St. Michael's has the upper hand. But here's an important stat: the Horsemen are 2-6 this year when scoring less than 50 points. If it hadn't been for overtime in both games against the Elks, St. Michael's would have been in the 40s.
That's Pojoaque's goal tonight - less than 50, and they should win.
And I believe the Elks will do that.

Enjoy the games, folks.