UPDATED brackets: Hope, Ruidoso wom as first-round boys prep basketball action tips off

Mar. 4—CLASS 5A

No. 2 SANDIA 65, No. 15 RIO GRANDE 30: At Sandia, the Matadors' high-pressure defense forced 23 turnovers, and Sandia used a second-quarter blitz to earn a comfortable win over the Ravens.

The Matadors (24-5) led just 12-5 after a sluggish first quarter but they outscored Rio Grande 25-5 in the second to take command. Dalen Moyer scored all 10 of his points in the second quarter, including a pair of 3-pointers.

"We want to speed the game up," Sandia coach Danny Brown said. "If you haven't faced us before, our length, athleticism and speed really affects how you play. I think that's what happened to Rio Grande tonight."

Thomas Adams scored 13 points, and Ely Lovato added 11 for the Matadors, who led 37-10 at halftime. Isaiah Lucero finished with 10 points and Jonah Lopez scored nine for the Ravens (15-13), who were unable to find any offensive rhythm against Sandia's aggressive defense.

It wasn't quite all good news for the Matadors, who sputtered through the third quarter and were outscored 12-7 by the hustling Ravens. Brown subbed out all five starters early in the quarter and later picked up a technical foul after his team received a bench warning.

"We were disengaged to start the third quarter and I wasn't happy," Brown said. "But give Rio credit, they were outplaying us."

The Matadors regained their form in the fourth quarter and steadily expanded the lead until both coaches emptied the benches in the closing minutes.

Sandia will next face seventh-seeded Cleveland in Wednesday's Class 5A quarterfinals at 4:45 p.m. at the Pit.

— Ken Sickenger

SANDIA 65, RIO GRANDE 30

RIO GRANDE (15-13): Jonah Lopez 9, Eliseo Velasquez 4, Iasaiah Lucero 10, Jacob Chavez 2, Santiago Gonzalez 5. Totals: 12 FG, 4-10 FT 30.

SANDIA (24-5): Joaquin Higuera 3, Andrew Hill 7, Jahmil Crayton-Johnson 5, Dalen Moyer 10, Zaire Ndyabagye 3, Thomas Adams 13, Lamarion Coleman 2, Gerald Lujan 5, Ely Lovato 11, Mason Howell 6. Totals: 27 FG 4-8 FT 65.

Rio Grande 5 10 12 8 — 30

Sandia 12 25 7 21 — 65

3-Point FGs: RG 2 (Lucero 2); S 7 (Higuera, Crayton Johnson, Moyer 2, Ndyabagye, Adams, Lujan). Team fouls: RG 12, S 14. Fouled out: none. Technical foul: S, head coach.

Class 4A

No. 6 HOPE CHRISTIAN 67, No. 11 KIRTLAND CENTRAL 51: At Hope Christian, Jett Wycoff saved his best for last. In his final home game, the Huskies' senior wing threw down seven 3-pointers on the way to a career-best 36 points to lead Hope into the state quarterfinals Wednesday against No. 3 St. Pius at 8 a.m. at the Pit.

"It's just a great feeling to go out with a win in my last home game," Wycoff said. "My coaches have told me no matter what, it doesn't matter how many times you miss, just keep shooting. I trust in the work that I have put in. It's just starting to come now."

After the Huskies (19-10) opened the game with a 9-0 run, the Broncos (18-10) clawed back in the second quarter to take a 24-22 lead.

Enter Wycoff, who dropped consecutive 3s to spark a 10-0, half-ending surge that left Hope up 32-24 at halftime.

Although Kirtland Central several times got it back within five points in the third quarter, the Broncos could not contend with Wycoff's relentless barrage, or the Huskies' unrelenting dominance on the offensive glass.

"We haven't seen a lot of zones this year, and we worked on that a little bit in practice," Hope coach Jim Murphy said. "Sometimes you live and die with it. But Jett got hot and it opened up other things for us."

Noah Perry was the recipient of those openings as he was able to blow by defenders into a lightly guarded interior on his way to adding 15 points for the Huskies.

"We haven't played for a while, and I think they were hungry," Murphy said. "This time of year, hopefully the hungry guys will get fed."

— Glen Rosales

No. 6 HOPE CHRISTIAN 67, No. 11 KIRTLAND CENTRAL 51

KIRTLAND CENTRAL (18-10): Devin Ramone 3, Satchel Hogue 10, Diovanni Pinto 0, Tyler Joe 0, Sequoia Santee 6, Noah Dineyazhe 5, Andres Melendrez 8, Shawn Hullahon 0, Jeremiah Cly 0, Brandon Ockerman 13, Elijah Grey 6, Bryle Matthews 0. Totals 18-FG 9-11-FT 51

HOPE CHRISTIAN (19-10): Jett Wycoff 36, Jack Rupp 0, Noah Perry 15, Ian Koenigsberg 0, Nathan Saavedra 8, Caden Williams 3, Christian Schermerhorn 2, Max Montoya 0, Brayden Giron 0, Nico Gutierrez 2, Luciano Silvera 0, Daniel Fiest 0, Xacier Otero 1. Totals: 24-FG 11-16-FT 67.

Kirtland Central 11 13 13 13—51

Hope Christian 17 15 16 19—67

3-point FGs: KC 6 (Grey 2, Ramone, Hogue, Dineyazhe, Ockerman); HC 8 (Wycoff 7, Williams). Total fouls: KC 12; HC 11. Fouled out: none. Technicals: KC, Melendez.

Class 3A

No. 11 RUIDOSO 74, No. 6 BOSQUE SCHOOL 68: Four players scored in double figures and the Warriors converted their free throws down the stretch to upset the Bobcats on their home court in a Class 3A first-round pairing on Saturday afternoon.

Logan Sandoval had a team-high 20 points for Ruidoso, notably going 6-for-6 at the stripe in the last 20 seconds after Bosque had closed to within one point.

"Those were big," Warriors coach Mike Trujillo said. "He's a great athlete. Pressure doesn't really get to him."

Ruidoso (16-9) raced out to a 14-point first quarter lead and kept Bosque (20-10) at arm's length for much of the game. Though they could never land the knockout blow, the Warriors still maintained a 10-point advantage with 2:30 to play. The Bobcats went on a 12-3 run behind Kyle Morris and Cooper Hautau to cut the deficit to 68-67, but Bosque ultimately never led as Ruidoso sealed the game at the line. Hautau led all scorers with 26, while Morris added 24 points for the Bobcats.

"It got tight. We probably got tired. We weren't closing the gaps and got in a little foul trouble," Trujillo said. "But our kids play with a lot of heart. They play to the end. I think we did that tonight. We're the underdog, but that's why we play the game."

The Ruidoso offense slowed considerably when senior guard Tao Barnes picked up his fourth foul early in the third quarter. Without Barnes, who scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half, Bosque was able to extend its perimeter defense, which helped key the rally. Ultimately, the Warriors were able to survive without Barnes for the majority of the second half. Other double-figure scorers for Ruidoso included Ethan Gerthe (16) and Ben Ferguson (12).

"That (foul trouble) hurt (us). Our rotation gets off a little bit," Trujillo said. "They got us up high, we struggled a little bit. But we finished with some poise, and that's what we talked about."

— Tristen Critchfield

No. 11 RUIDOSO 74, No. 6 BOSQUE 68

RUIDOSO (16-9): Tao Barnes 15, Danny Pino 3, Ethan Gerthe 16, Logan Sandoval 20, Cooper Pritchett 0, Patrick Kimbrell 0, Mikey Rose 8, Ben Ferguson 12. 26-FG 14-22-FT 74.

BOSQUE (20-10): Kyle Morris 24, Aidan Lester 3, Leo Dettweiler 2, Alex Starr 4, Cooper Hautau 26, Phineas Rankin 0, Josiah Wilson 2, Oliver Tumolo 7. 24-FG 15-27-FT 68.

Ruidoso 29 14 10 22 — 74

Bosque 15 18 11 24—68

3-Point Goals: R 8 (Gerthe 4, Barnes 2, Sandoval, Rose); B 5 (Hautau 3, Lester, Tumolo). Total Fouls: R 23; B 18. Fouled out: R, Barnes.

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