The Manzano High boys basketball team had to prove — once again — that one should never, ever count out the Monarchs.

The Purple Pride, which at one point early in the season was ranked No. 2 in the New Mexico High School Coaches Association Class 5A poll, had steadily slipped in the rankings and two days before its faceoff against top-ranked Eldorado at home on Friday had dropped all the way down to seventh.

The first half was a tale of two quarters.

Manzano (15-5, 3-1 in District 5-5A) blasted out of the tipoff for an adrenalin-fueled 22-5 lead in the first quarter against the Eagles (17-3, 2-1) in their district game, which was postponed a day due to bad weather. But what was even more impressive was the Monarchs' resilience, after getting the tables turned on them in the second quarter, in coming back during a second-half slugfest for what eventually was a 56-47 victory.

"I think it was that our seniors came through for us — like Darrelyn (McCloud), Kyle (Lantz) and Jordan (Llamas)," Manzano coach Travis Julian said in the locker room after the game. "They kept us together."

Manzano allowed EHS to make a 22-4 run in the second quarter. The Eagles — Cullen Neal pumped his fist in celebration after canning a 3-pointer with 7 seconds remaining in the initial half — took a 27-26 lead into the halftime locker room in what turned out to be Eldorado's second and final advantage of the contest.

"It's always good to beat the top-ranked team," said Llamas, Manzano's leader in the floor-burns category. "We've been where they are. I've been there. We know what it's like. We just need to keep doing what we do best."

Llamas, a 6-foot-1 star football running back from Carnuel, brings confidence, athleticism and a certain level of intensity to the game. Llamas, even when he's not the scoring focus, is the Monarchs' catalyst.

Llamas got the ball rolling with consecutive penetrations followed by kickouts to first Lantz and then Quavshaun Branch for back-to-back treys that pushed Manzano's lead to 9-3 with 5:30 left in the first period. Then, after getting his team's final defensive rebound in the first quarter, Llamas flew downcourt and launched a midair push of a fling that caromed off the backboard and into the hands of flying big man Michael Holyfield, who tipped the ball in off the glass at the buzzer.

Eagle Christian Sacoman provided nine of his game-high 19 points in the second quarter. It really seemed as if the Monarchs' had blown their chance to gain the upset.

"What happened with us was we started playing outside of what we usually do," Llamas said.

Manzano appeared to go into a more methodical offense as the energy the Monarchs had established in the first quarter quickly ebbed.

Julian said it wasn't his plan for his team to pull back like that.

"They (the Eagles) make us do that," he said. "They're a good team with a good coach (Roy Sanchez). We had come out very aggressively (in the first quarter)."

However, Lantz's 3-pointer at the 6:22 mark of the third got Manzano the lead back for good at 29-27, and Llamas' steal at one end of the floor, his subsequent fullcourt drive and one-on-two take to the hole, during which he was fouled, allowed him to make two free throws for a 31-27 lead with 5:18 left. But Neal's trey with a second remaining closed the gap to 39-38.

Holyfield, at 6-9, and Eldorado's 6-6 Chris Strong, who put in 12 points, battled toe-to-toe in the third. Holyfield even intentionally bodied up on the Eagle at half court during an EHS inbounds play from under the basket.

In the end, the Monarchs outscored Eldorado 12-4 in the final 2:09 of the game to garner the win. A foul on Neal, who had 13 points, and a technical on Sanchez with 11.1 seconds left put Manzano at the line.

Llamas' two free throws and Lantz's pair of technical shots iced it and expanded the lead to 54-46. Two more charity baskets from Llamas with 10.7 seconds left pushed his team's advantage to 56-46.

The Monarchs' scoring leaders included Lantz (17 points), Branch (11), Holyfield (11) and Llamas (six).

"On 'O,' we want to get good shots," Julian said. "We don't want to come down and jack up the first available shot right away. I think we did a good job with that."

Manzano girls

The Monarchs (15-5, 2-1), who dropped out of the top 10 poll last week, defeated 4A's eighth-ranked Del Norte 51-44 at the Knights' gym Saturday.

The Monarchs' away game versus Eldorado, which was to have been played Jan. 28, was postponed due to the weather. The contest has been rescheduled for Feb. 11.

Manzano girls host Highland, today, 7 p.m.

Manzano boys at Highland, Friday, 7 p.m.