Sandia upsets Cibola as Metro tournament tips off
Volcano Vista tops Atrisco Heritage to avenge early loss
When the 16 seeds were arranged for the Albuquerque Metro Championships a couple of weeks ago, Sandia boys basketball coach Alvin Broussard had no complaints.
“Based on what we did after four games,” he said, “an 11 seed was perfectly fair.” Doesn’t seem fair now. Sandia raced out to a 10-2 lead on visiting Cibola on Tuesday night, but eventually had to hold off a Cougars surge in the second half as the Matadors posted a 62-57 first-round upset.
Sandia lost three of its first four, but the Matadors (now 5-4) are heating up and will face No. 3 Hope Christian in the quarterfinals at Sandia at 7:15 tonight.
“At the beginning of the season, we didn’t gel,” said senior guard Jhonah Callahan. “But our team chemistry (now) is great. It’s all about trust. We have each other’s backs.”
Callahan drained three first-quarter 3-pointers as Sandia got out quickly — but it was his 3 from the far baseline with 49 seconds remaining that proved to be the dagger.
With Cibola pushing hard to tie or overtake the Matadors, that shot gave Sandia a 56-51 cushion.
“I was deciding if I should have pump faked and gone to the basket,” said Callahan, who finished with 14 points. “But I was so confident. And that was a turning point in the game.”
The Cougars were down by 10 early in the second half, but didn’t go quietly. They continued to cut into the Sandia lead, and eventually sixthseeded Cibola (7-3) pulled to within two points, 50-48, with 3:11 to go. Two was as close as Cibola got, however.
— James Yodice
No. 10 VOLCANO VISTA 63, No. 7 ATRISCO
HERITAGE 58: At Atrisco, the teams were called for 52 fouls and combined to shoot 59 free throws.
Near the end, David Cormier’s three-point play with 1:12 left was crucial for the Hawks (5-5), pushing them to a 61-56 lead and essentially clinching their spot in the quarterfinals opposite No. 2 Cleveland at 7:15 tonight at Atrisco Heritage.
That was an important answer for Volcano Vista, since the Jaguars’ Demarcus Sutphen dropped in a 30-foot jumper on the previous possession for Atrisco Heritage (6-4).
Cormier is visiting Air Force and Navy this month on football visits. He originally said he would not play basketball, but changed his mind and joined the Hawks after several games. He had 11 points on Tuesday night.
“I guess I just missed them, missed playing basketball,” Cormier said.
Four of Volcano Vista’s losses are by a combined 11 points. The only blowout loss came in the opener — to Atrisco Heritage.
— James Yodice No. 3 HOPE CHRISTIAN 62, No. 14 RIO GRANDE 27: At Sandia, the Huskies (8-2) buried eight 3s in their easy victory over the Ravens. No. 4 ELDORADO 79, No. 13 HIGHLAND 56: At Highland, Tyler Rodgers led the Eagles with 27 points as they advanced to the quarterfinals to face No. 4 Rio Rancho at 7:15 tonight at Highland. No. 5 RIO RANCHO 77, No. 12 DEL NORTE 42: At Highland, David Patterson had four 3s and a team-best 15 points for the Rams (8-5).
No. 1 ALBUQUERQUE HIGH 66, No. 16 MANZANO 43: At Bulldog City, Lorenzo Cantoja’s 14 points were part of a balanced scoring attack for the Bulldogs (8-1). AHS takes on No. 8 Valley at 7:15 tonight at Albuquerque High after the Vikings defeated No. 9 La Cueva.
Girls
No. 1 HOPE CHRISTIAN 72, No. 16 RIO GRANDE 32: At Rio Grande, Alivia Lewis led the Huskies (8-1) with 14 points. No. 8 HIGHLAND 36, No. 9 CLEVELAND 27: At Rio Grande, the Hornets (6-4) rode a huge third quarter (17-4) to a victory over the Storm. Highland meets Hope at 7:15 tonight at Rio Grande in the quarterfinals. No. 4 LA CUEVA 55, No. 13 VALLEY 39: At La Cueva, Delaney Markham led the Bears with 12 points.
No. 12 RIO RANCHO 47, No. 5 SANDIA 45: At La Cueva, the Rams (5-6) avenged an openingseason loss to the Matadors and rallied in the fourth quarter to win. Laura Gutierrez had 13 points, team-best for Rio Rancho, which faces La Cueva at 7:15 tonight in the quarters. No. 6 CIBOLA 53, No. 11 DEL NORTE 36: At Cibola, senior point guard Kavi Brown, with 12 points, was one of three Cougars in double figures. They play No. 3 West Mesa tonight at 7:15 at Cibola in the quarters; the Mustangs ripped No. 14 Manzano 69-24. No. 2 ELDORADO 72, No. 15 ALBUQUERQUE HIGH 21: At Eldorado, Sydney Candelaria poured in 22 points for the Eagles, who will host a quarterfinal at 7:15 tonight.