Prep basketball: Sandia boys are one win away from first title since 1985
Mar. 9—Play continues Thursday in the state high school basketball championships, officially known as the Nusenda Credit Union Basketball State Championships.
By day's end, 16 games will have been played, eight each at the Pit and the Rio Rancho Events Center. I
The Journal's James Yodice is on the scene at the Pit. Follow his Twitter feed and that of the New Mexico Activites Association below. And check back here for game reports and bracket updates throughout the day.
CLASS 5A BOYS
For the first time in 20 years, the Sandia Matadors will play for a boys state basketball championship.The Matadors held off hard-charging Los Lunas in the first of two Class 5A semifinals Thursday at the Pit. Next, at 8 p.m. Saturday, Sandia will face either No. 1 Volcano Vista or No. 5 Organ Mountain. The Hawks and Knights met late Thursday.
Sandia hasn't won state since 1985.
No. 2 SANDIA 49, No. 3 LOS LUNAS 45: There were two critical 10-0 runs in the second half for the Matadors (26-5), who trailed 16-15 at halftime.
"Snails," Sandia coach Danny Brown said of the first-half pace and score, both of which were heavily in Los Lunas' favor. "We were stagnant on offense."
Sandia knew this was not sustainable if it wanted to reach Saturday night.
"We had to speed things up," senior guard Andrew Hill said.
And so Sandia did.
The first 10-0 run, in the third quarter, gave Sandia the lead for good. It included 3-pointers from Ely Lovato and Dalen Moyer and created a 27-19 lead.
Hill, who led the Matadors with 15 points, had the final five of the quarter, and Sandia led 35-28 going to the fourth.
The second 10-0 run, in the middle portion of the fourth quarter, sealed the game, although not by much.
Moyer dropped in another 3, Hill converted a Los Lunas turnover into a layup, and Lovato added another 3 of his own for a 45-30 lead with 3:46 remaining.
"They were big shots," Hill said of Lovato and Moyer's work from the arc. "They stepped up for us."
The Tigers (25-7) didn't go away. They staged a furious rally after falling down 15 but didn't have a chance to win or tie in the closing moments. They got as close as two, but there were only sixth-tenths of a seconds left after Jalin Holland's 3-pointer.
"It was a little too much of a mountain to climb," Tigers coach Travis Julian said.
Holland finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds for Los Lunas.
"We turned the ball over a couple of times, and the thing with them," Julian said of Sandia, "is that they're so explosive. You can't afford to turn it over."
Lovato finished with nine points for Sandia, having made all three of his 3-point attempts, plus he added six rebounds. Ezra Guest had 12 points and five assists for the Tigers.
For Brown, Saturday will be his second time in the championship game. He took Highland there in 2009, but the Hornets were beaten by La Cueva in the final.
Sandia Los Lunas by Albuquerque Journal on Scribd
CLASS 5A GIRLS
The Hobbs and Volcano Vista girls basketball teams are going to share Bob King Court on the final day of the season.This is a recording.
The top-seeded Eagles and third-seeded Hawks will meet for the Class 5A state championship for the fourth consecutive season following semifinal victories on Thursday at the Pit.
Hobbs overcame La Cueva in a gritty and controversial game, while Volcano Vista cruised past Las Cruces, setting up a 2 p.m. showdown Saturday at the Pit.
Hobbs is in the final for the sixth straight season.
"Six in a row. Holy crap," Eagles coach Joe Carpenter said, shaking his head. "It's unbelievable."
Volcano has beaten Hobbs in each of the last two title games.
No. 1 HOBBS 44, No. 5 LA CUEVA 42: The Eagles (27-3) advanced with a come-from-behind victory over the Bears (23-8), who were leading most of the way.
Freshman Aliana Armitage of Hobbs scored the game-winner for the Eagles, driving the length of the floor for a layup with 5.5 seconds left to break a 42-all tie.
Karleigh Gutierrez for La Cueva had tied the game with a layup of her own with 15.8 seconds remaining. Armitage took the inbounds pass and darted down the floor, to the rack, and won the game. It was her only field goal.
After the basket, La Cueva had five seconds with which to work, but turned the ball over with 1.2 seconds remaining.
Both teams were down multiple starters at the finish, due to fouls and one sequence that hung over the final result.
With 4:37 left, and La Cueva leading 34-33, the Bears' Eva Love (who had scored 11 points) and Hobbs' Kyndle Cunningham (who had scored 10) both were ejected on what the officials deemed to be a double technical, and flagrant, foul.
"It felt like we had to win it," Armitage said, "especially for Kyndle."
Carpenter said he would appeal to the New Mexico Activities Association to get Cunningham's flagrant foul vacated, which would allow her to play on Saturday.
"This one was really different," Carpenter said, speaking of the victory and not the aforementioned play. "We played 11 kids, and I don't think I've ever done that in a tight game."
La Cueva led by as many as nine points in both halves. Hobbs' aggressiveness allowed it to get to the free-throw line in abundance as it slowly came back. The Eagles were 21 of 33 from the stripe, compared to 10 of 16 for La Cueva.
Alexis Ayers and Love both scored 11 for the Bears. Ayers was outstanding, adding four steals, two assists and five rebounds. Bhret Clay's 14 points led Hobbs.
La Cueva Hobbs by Albuquerque Journal on Scribd
No. 3 VOLCANO VISTA 56, No. 7 LAS CRUCES 35: The Hawks (27-3) put together a workmanlike effort and performed very much like a team who is familiar with the Pit and the high stakes.
Las Cruces (22-9) was chasing its first-ever appearance in a championship game. But the Bulldawgs had no answer — as is the case with most teams — for Volcano Vista 6-foot junior forward Taejhuan Hill, who finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds.
"Her former teammates and her teammates today, know that in 'TT' we trust," Hawks coach Lisa Villareal said.
An 8-0 second-quarter run, including 3-pointers from Jade Lovato and Mila Espinoza, put the Hawks in front for good at 20-13. The Bulldawgs trailed by five at halftime (20-15), and never got closer than that.
"We just had to focus and lock in and do what we know how to do," said Hill.
Lila Ashida had 13 points and six rebounds for Las Cruces. Point guard Emma Christiano missed about 10 minutes of game action with foul trouble.
"When she went out of the game," Villareal said, "we were able to up the pressure a little bit."
Lilliana Duncan added 10 points for Volcano Vista, including a pair of 3s.
"I think we made a name for ourselves while we were here," Las Cruces coach Lori Selby said.
V Vista Las Cruces by Albuquerque Journal on Scribd
CLASS 4A BOYS
No. 1 ALBUQUERQUE ACADEMY 44, No. 12 VALLEY 42: As the top seed in Class 4A, Albuquerque Academy has relied on its outside prowess to fuel easy victories in the first two rounds of the boys state tournament.
Those 3 balls stopped dropping Thursday in the semifinals against District 6-4A rival, 12th-seed Valley.
So instead, the Chargers went to plan B: forward Joe Jack. He scored 20 points and snuffed a last-ditch Vikings comeback attempt with a quick defensive play as Academy won 44-42 to advance to Saturday's 4 p.m. championship game, where it will meet Hope Christian at the Pit.
Dillon McCleskey added 13 for the Chargers (26-3) and Tyler Kozlowski had 20 for the Vikings (15-15).
Trailing by two, Valley had a chance late to tie it or take the lead late after Jack Johnson missed the back end of a 1-and-1.
Kozlowski flashed through the paint with about 10 seconds left, but Jack denied the entry pass. Then Julian Chavez swung through and was briefly open, Jack collapsed on him as well, forcing a kick-out to Kozlowski, whose off-balance buzzer-beating attempt was well off the mark.
"I knew I had to heave up a prayer," he said of his final attempt.
Valley ran what had been a successful play throughout the game.
"We had a couple of options off that," Valley coach EZ Panas said. "Julian was coming off a double screen and Tyler had a double screen. That's what the guys wanted to run and we ran it. Julian had a good curl, and Joe Jack shut him off at the last second and made a good defensive play."
The Chargers were ready for the play, coach Marcos CdeBaca said.
"We knew what the play was," he said. "Everybody was locked in. Everybody in the huddle, the coaches, the players, were locked in. They knew what they had to do. It was a team effort, but we knew where the ball was going."
The Vikings did a good job of slowing it down and denying Academy's deep shooting, holding the Chargers to 1-of-10 on 3s.
"They average 12-13 3-pointers a game, so obviously that's No. 1 on our scouting report is make them drive the ball off the 3-point line," Panas said. "And we did a good job of it. Defensively, we were solid. We had our chances. We make free throws, make a couple of looks there, we win that game. We put ourselves in a great position. They battled, they fought."
And that Plan B for Academy was just too much.
"The shots weren't falling and you have days like that," McCleskey said. "But the great thing about that with this team is we can win in more than one way. Of course we want to shoot the ball but we can pound the rock as well."
And Jack proved to be a more than capable rock-pounder.
"If our shots aren't falling, get to the rack," he said. "It's one of things, if the shots aren't going in, attack the paint and do whatever you can."
— Glen Rosales
Valley Academy by Albuquerque Journal on Scribd
No. 6 HOPE CHRISTIAN 62, No. 7 TAOS 50: In the Pit, Noah Perry scored 23 points and went 8-8 from the foul line in the fourth quarter to lead the Huskies (19-11) to the Class 4A championship game for the first time since 2018. Christian Schermerhorn added 20 point for Hope, while Daemon Ely had 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Tigers (19-11).
Taos Hope by Albuquerque Journal on Scribd
CLASS 4A GIRLS
The deciding game in a best-of-five season series between Kirtland Central and Gallup will come with a blue trophy on the line.The top-seeded Broncos vanquished Hope Christian, while the second-seeded Bengals cruised past St. Pius to set up their fifth meeting of the season in the girls Class 4A championship game Friday at the Pit at 7 p.m.
The District 1-4A rivals have split four games, with Gallup earning the most recent victory in the finals of the district tournament. It's also a matchup of the last two Class 4A state champions and Kirtland Central's fourth title game appearance in the last five years.
"I think it's the matchup that everyone wants to see," said Gallup coach Todd McBroom. "I think we're the two best teams the past three years. That's what I believe."
NO. 1 KIRTLAND CENTRAL 53, NO. 4 HOPE CHRISTIAN 35: The Broncos came in waves and eventually, a game squad of Huskies ran out of gas.
Kirtland Central, which went nine deep with its main rotation, relied on its depth and pressure defense to pull away from Hope in the fourth quarter. The Broncos (29-3) led by just five after three periods but opened the final stanza on a 12-2 run.
Hope (22-8), which rarely strayed from its starting five until late in the game, struggled to score down the stretch in a matchup that was closer than its final score indicated. Eight players scored for Kirtland Central, compared to three for the Huskies.
"That was our hope was to pressure and to get into their legs," Broncos coach Devon Manning said. "We know they didn't sub a lot, and we were trying to wear them down a little bit. In the first half we weren't scoring, so it was hard for us to put that pressure on that we wanted."
Kirtland Central also did well limiting the opportunities of Kathleen Obisike. The Huskies' post scored eight points in the first quarter as Hope took a 10-6 lead, but she was limited to six points the rest of the way to finish with 14 points and game-high 16 rebounds.
"She's a good post. I give credit to her," said Kirtland Central's Aaryanna Lansing, who was one of the players tasked with guarding Obisike. "She gave us a little struggle. We really needed to box out. I think we started doing that later on."
Three players scored in double figures for the Broncos: Lansing (13), Emilian Clani (12) and Teghan Begay (12). Charlotte Bitsoih paced the Huskies with 15.
— Tristen Critchfield
NO. 2 GALLUP 68, NO. 3 ST. PIUS 49: Twelve players scored for the Bengals (27-5), who built a 15-point halftime lead and cruised past the Sartans (22-6) .
Kiera Livingston (13 points), Daliyah Morris (11) and Rylie Whitehair (11) led the way for Gallup, as it shot an efficient 52 percent from the field and outscored St. Pius by 21 points at the foul line. Up 30-24 late in the second quarter, the Bengals closed the half on a 9-0 run. St. Pius never got closer than 14 points the rest of the way.
"They only play about seven kids, really six," McBroom said of St. Pius. "Minutes add up over the year, and I think that kind of catches up to them, where we rotate a lot of bodies and we wear people out."
Alyssa Maes led the Sartans with a game high 21 points on 9-for-14 shooting. The rest of the St. Pius team combined to go just 12 for 38 from the floor. — Tristen Critchfield
Gallup St Pius by Albuquerque Journal on Scribd
CLASS 2A GIRLS
No. 1 ESCALANTE 46, No. 4 CAPITAN 33: In Rio Rancho, Brycelyn Martinez scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Escalante (22-7) in its win over Capitan (23-7). Escalante, which lost last year's final to Clayton by one point, advances to Friday's 5 p.m. championship game at the Pit vs. the winner of the late semifinal between No. 3 Laguna Acoma and No. 7 Texico.
Emma Maestas added 11 rebounds for Escalante, which won the battle of the glass 38-27. Still, Capitan held tough and grabbed a 21-17 lead with 5:32 left in the third quarter on Haileigh Brown's 3-pointer. But Escalante took control with a 15-1 run over roughly the next five minutes.
Tyla Gibson had 13 points and Brown 11 for Capitan.
Escalante Capitan by Albuquerque Journal on Scribd
CLASS 1A BOYS
No. 1 MAGDALENA 50, No. 13 CLOVIS CHRISTIAN 23: At the Rio Rancho Events Center, the state's lone unbeaten team put on a prohibitive defensive performance on Thursday.
Magdalena (31-0) routed surprise semifinalist Clovis Christian 50-23 in one Class 1A boys state semifinal at the Rio Rancho Events Center, setting up a 6 p.m. Saturday matchup with Fort Sumner/House for the state title.
D'Shaun Vinyard scored 16 points for Magdalena and Kael Stephens added 13. But the defense was the star.
No. 13 Clovis Christian (20-11), which advanced with wins over the No. 4 seed Maxwell and No. 5 Cliff, scored six points in the first three quarters and five in the fourth. Carter Teune scored 11 to lead Clovis Christian, which shot 23 percent from the field, 2 of 19 on 3-point tries.
Magdalena Clovis Christian by Albuquerque Journal on Scribd
No. 2 FORT SUMNER/HOUSE 29, No. 3 MELROSE 25: In Rio Rancho, Fort Sumner/House (28-2) shot 24 percent, and its leading scorers — Clay Norman, Joaquin Segura and Chance Thomson — managed only eight points apiece. And that was the team that won.
Jaxson Odom had a game-high 10 points for Melrose (22-7), which shot 29 percent and committed 14 turnovers to Fort Sumner/House's five.
Fort Sumner House Melrose by Albuquerque Journal on Scribd
CLASS 1A GIRLS
No. 4 TO'HAJIILEE 54, No. 1 MELROSE 53: In Rio Rancho, Donata Secatero's basket with 17 seconds to play held up in an upset of the top-ranked team in the classification. To'hajiilee (27-1) advances to play No. 2 Roy/Mosquero in Saturday's 10 a.m. championship game at the Pit.
Kaiden Wilson scored 17 points and Secatero 14 for the winners. Isabelle Sena scored a game-high 19 points, hitting all seven of her free throws, for Melrose (26-2).
To'HajiileeMelrose by Albuquerque Journal on Scribd
NO. 2 ROY/MOSQUERO 55, NO. 6 ANIMAS 39: In Rio Rancho, Natalie Smith and Sylvania Baca had 13 points apiece to lead Roy/Mosquero (27-2), which advances to Saturday's 10 a.m. championship game at the Pit against the late Friday semifinal survivor between No. 1 Melrose and No. 4 To'hajiilee.
Addy Offutt scored a game-high 17 points for Animas, whose season ended at 21-9.
Both teams shot 4-of-17 on 3s, and Animas outrebounded the winners 38-32. But Animas also committed 28 turnovers to Roy/Mosquero's 13, and the wasted offensive opportunities hurt.
Roy Mosque Rov Animas 1 a Girls by Albuquerque Journal on Scribd
2023 Nusenda Credit Union Boys Basketball State Championships Class 5A
2023 Nusenda Credit Union Boys Basketball State Championships Class 4A
2023 Nusenda Credit Union Boys Basketball State Championships Class 3A
2023 Nusenda Credit Union Boys Basketball State Championships Class 2A
2023 Nusenda Credit Union Boys Basketball State Championships Class A
2023 Nusenda Credit Union Girls Basketball State Championships Class 5A
2023 Nusenda Credit Union Girls Basketball State Championships Class 4A
2023 Nusenda Credit Union Girls Basketball State Championships Class 3A
2023 Nusenda Credit Union Girls Basketball State Championships Class 2A
2023 Nusenda Credit Union Girls Basketball State Championships Class A
