Photos by Stephen Jiron Sanford freshman Cheyenne Caldon (33) fights her way inside in Friday’s win over Alamosa. Caldon led Sanford with 12 points.

SANFORD— Sanford basketball hosted Alamosa for non-conference games with the girls and boys squads Friday night. Going up a class Sanford upended the visitors in both contests. Sanford’s girls took a win with a last second shot to claim a 36-34 win. Sanford’s boys rode a big third quarter to a get away with a 46-41 win.  
Alamosa and Sanford’s girls had rather similar seasons last year. Both finishing with winning records, 13-6 and 12-7 for Sanford and Alamosa respectively. In their district tournaments both teams placed second in their respective districts. While Sanford fell at the regional round, Alamosa fell at the State level.
When things got underway between the two squads Friday night, it was a slow start. Alamosa’s Emily Lavier led Alamosa to a 5-2 lead in the first quarter. In the second quarter Sanford closed the distance but still trailed 6-5.
Alamosa would thaw first picking up 6 unanswered points, led by four points from junior Lilly Lavier in the second quarter. Sanford followed suit and shook out their own cobwebs to close the deficit to 16-12 at the half.
Lilly Lavier took Alamosa on her back and nurtured their lead with 12 third quarter points to go ahead 31-24. Lilly would go on to lead the Moose with 19 points on the night. In the fourth quarter the Moose slowed to a crawl. Alamosa limped to 34 points with three points off free throws. Meanwhile Sanford found their offense.
Capping a 7-3 run, a free throw from Mackenzie Peterson tied it all up at 34-all. Sanford would gain possession after a travel and with 16 seconds left on the clock they would inbound it and look for a shot. A boisterous portion of the crowd began the countdown early and forced an errant shot. In the ensuing scramble Sanford senior Lauren Canty put up a re-feed and beat the buzzer to give Sanford the win. Sanford was led in scoring by freshman Cheyenne Caldon with 12 points off the bench.  
Both boys’ squads also share similarities. Alamosa finished with a 17-2 record to advance to state. Sanford went 14-5 before districts and regionals – going to state with a 19-5 record.
Friday night Chad Jackson came out shooting for Alamosa putting up 9 points in the first quarter helping the Moose to a 16-8 lead.  Chad’s 14 points led Alamosa on Friday night. Alamosa would continue to pace Sanford all the way to the half taking a 25-16 lead to the locker rooms.
Sanford came back from the locker rooms with a renewed vigor. Meanwhile there seemed to be a lid on the hoop for Alamosa. Chad Jackson drained the lone basket of the quarter for Alamosa as the starters for the Moose shot a meager 11 percent from the field.
 Seven points from Clay Canty led a 15-point Sanford third quarter as they took the lead. Alamosa cleaned things up in the fourth hitting 100 percent of their free throws but they could not recover from their dismal third quarter. Sanford would protect the lead all the way to the conclusion taking a 46-41 win.
Sanford will get to revel in the victory for a week as they won’t be in action until Dec. 6 when they go on the road joining Valley teams Monte Vista, Centauri and Del Norte for the La Junta Holiday Shootout.