Oñate ends run with tourney crown
Knights beats 6A champ Rio Rancho in final
RIO RANCHO — The 2016-17 Oñate boys basketball schedule was constructed not so much for December as it was for March.
That foresight will allow the Knights to sail into 2017 as one of New Mexico’s hottest teams.
Oñate didn’t commit a turnover in the first half, and the veteran Knights drained 19 out of 23 free throws in the fourth quarter as they beat defending Class 6A state champion Rio Rancho 81-76 on Friday night in the championship game of the Rams’ Holiday Hoops Classic.
Oñate (11-2) beat Hope Christian, Eldorado and Rio Rancho in a 72-hour period.
“These guys earned it,” Knights coach Saul Perez said. “With these three wins, going into district (next week), is humongous for us. The confidence this builds? We couldn’t ask for anything more.”
Friday’s was a victory that had polish.
The Knights turned the ball over only four times in 32 minutes — and most impressively, only once in the final four minutes, when the Rams (7-5) were pressing and trapping Oñate pretty much from baseline to baseline.
“If you sit back in the zone, they’re gonna spread you,” Rio Rancho coach Wally Salata said. “So I had to extend it 90 feet.”
In the final 3:30, Oñate buried 18 out of 21 tries from the stripe and ball security was at a premium.
“It was just a great win,” said senior guard Antonio Zamora of Oñate, selected the tournament’s most valuable player. “Coming into Rio Rancho, it’s not easy to take down the defending state champs.”
Two other guards, Tony Avalos and Hunter Thomas, were a combined 14 of 17 from the line down the stretch as Oñate got the ball into the hands of the right shooters.
“We run if we miss (in practice),” Avalos said, smiling. “We make them, we get to end early.”
The Knights led for the final 30½ minutes, but almost never comfortably so. The widest margin in the first half was eight points, and the biggest for the game was 10, 66-56, with 3:30 left in the game.
“We played the three best teams in this tournament,” Perez said. “In 20 years of coaching, I’ve never been a part of something like that.”
Avalos led the Knights with 20 points, 16 of them coming in the second half. Thomas added 18 points.
Perez said Oñate chose to play in two tournaments in the metro area — including the Joe Armijo Classic — to toughen his group.
“If we were to draw it up and have a plan,” he said. “this is exactly what we would have done.”
Juan Hurt of Rio Rancho led all scorers with 28 points.
“That team right there was a state semifinalist last season. They’re a very good team,” Salata said.
In the third-place game, Española Valley was down nearly 30 points to Eldorado, but the Sundevils roared back to stun the Eagles, 72-70, in overtime. Eldorado took an early 22-2 lead. Mayfield also had a surprising win, defeating Hope Christian 58-52 for fifth place.
STU CLARK INVITE: In Las Vegas, N.M., post Jordan Arroyo scored a team-best 19 points, leading Atrisco Heritage (6-3) to a 66-47 victory over Class 4A power West Las Vegas in the championship game. Sandia Prep edged Moriarty 67-63 for fifth. HOBBS HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT: At Ralph Tasker Arena, Las Cruces downed Sandia 53-39 in Friday’s championship game. Cleveland routed Canutillo, Texas, 65-32, in the fifth-place game, with Marquise Hill scoring 20 points for the Storm.
CLOVIS TOURNAMENT: Chris Johnson had 30 points for Highland, which beat Carlsbad 76-69 in the third-place contest.
Girls
LAS CRUCES HOLIDAY HOOPLA: Tournament MVP Sarah Abney’s jump shot at the buzzer won the tournament for Las Cruces High (12-1), which edged Sandia (6-1) 41-39 in the title game.
CLOVIS TOURNAMENT: Dumas, Texas, defeated Highland 39-33 in the championship game.