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Mike Kluk said that not many teams would match up in size with his Los Alamos boys basketball team.
Tuesday was a good indicator of that, as the Hilltoppers outmuscled a small Valencia team to a 44-37 season-opening win at Griffith Gym.
“The bigs did a good job passing in the interior,” Kluk said. “We had some first game jitters. But it was a good first game for us against an opponent that we should beat. We got to practice and see a lot of things.”
After Valencia got off to an 8-0 start and a 14-9 first-quarter lead, Los Alamos dominated the second quarter defensively, not allowing a single point in the frame en route to taking a 21-14 lead at halftime.  
“We got on a little streak there and got a big enough lead to hold without giving it away,” Kluk said. “The boys did a pretty good job controlling the ball and ran a lot of clock toward the end. We were trying not to force it but at the same time we were still trying to score.”
The Hilltoppers continued the pressure on defense in the second half, holding the Jaguars scoreless until the 4:34 mark of the third quarter. Michael Naranjo led Los Almaos with seven points in the third quarter. A Cade Gastway bucket with five seconds left gave the Hilltoppers a 33-24 lead going into the final quarter.

Result-wise, it wasn’t the start the Los Alamos girl’s basketball team wanted.
But there were some areas of optimism in the Hilltoppers 38-32 season-opening loss to Farmington on Saturday at Griffith Gym.
Before the season opener, Los Alamos (0-1) first-year coach Josh Archuleta said the strength for this season’s Hilltoppers is team defense. And that was evident in the 38 points allowed. But on offense, Los Alamos appeared to be stale at times and didn’t capitalize on open shots.
The Hilltoppers perimeter defense was solid, only allowing one Farmington (1-0) triple, which came in the first quarter.  
Farmington took a 32-25 lead after four quick buckets early in the fourth quarter. The Hilltoppers didn’t score in the final quarter until the 1:25 mark and strung together five more points in the final minute of the game. But the comeback effort was too late, as the Scorpions went up by 13, after starting the quarter on a 14-0 run.
After a slow opening half, Los Alamos got it going by outscoring the Scorpions 10-3 in the third quarter and taking a 25-24 lead into the final stanza.   
The Hilltoppers struggled to execute on offense in the second quarter, only scoring six points in the frame, as Farmington took a 21-15 lead into halftime.

The last two seasons, the Los Alamos boy's basketball team was enforced by a plethora of young players.

Those players are now juniors and seniors and they are the leaders of the program.

The Hilltoppers begin their 2016-17 season by hosting Valencia at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Griffith Gym.

"We've been telling them since last summer that it's their program now," said Mike Kluk, who's entering his fourth season as Los Alamos coach. "It's critical that they step up and own it. They're all upperclassmen now and we're starting see a bit more maturity compared to last year."

Every player on the Los Alamos roster this season is either a senior or junior.

One of the experienced pieces that the Hilltoppers will rely on in 2016-17 is 6-foot junior guard Jack Stewart.  

"There's been a lot of potential these past couple seasons and we're just looking to build off of that," Stewart said. "We're all maturing so I think it's going to be good this season."

Kluk said he implemented a new offensive scheme during the offseason. And the team has adapted well to the new offense, according to Kluk.

Not only will the Los Alamos girl’s basketball team begin the season with a new coach, it will also have a new leader on the court.
The Hilltoppers tip-off their 2016-17 campaign by hosting Farmington at 5 p.m. Saturday at Griffith Gym.
“It’s going to be tough to get off to a strong start but it is important,” said Los Alamos first-year coach Josh Archuleta. “Usually that first game will set the tone for the season. But I’ve been on both sides of the coin. I’ve lost the first game before but came stronger. And I’ve also won the first game but didn’t come back so strong.”
Archuleta inherits a squad that includes seven seniors and three juniors. Although most of those seniors and juniors have been on the varsity level before, they haven’t seen a lot of meaningful minutes, as Los Alamos graduated four key players from last year’s team.  
“They graduated some key players last year so they have some big shoes to fill,” Archuleta said. “We have one girl (Ashley Logan) that’s coming up with true varsity experience and that’s gotten several minutes. So these girls have something to prove and they want to show that it’s their turn to shine.”
“I see us surprising a lot of people.”