Sandia no match for Rio Rancho
Fifth-seeded Rams cruise to Metro crown
This time, there was no magic for an 11 seed.
Defending Class 6A boys state basketball champion Rio Rancho — gaining momentum with every win since the calendar rolled over to 2017 — trailed Sandia for only 14 seconds on Monday night, and the Rams went on to beat the Matadors 79-63 in the final of the Albuquerque Metro Championships at Cibola.
It is the first metro title for the Rams (11-5), who were seeded fifth in this tournament. They were an 11 seed themselves when they won state 10 months ago — just as Sandia (7-5) was in this event.
But Rio Rancho, which trailed Albuquerque High for only about two minutes in Saturday’s semifinals, kept Sandia at arm’s length virtually the entire way.
“There’s no defending our team,” said Ram junior forward Joe Elmalhy, who scored 12 points for the Rams. “Our team is too destructive.”
Indeed, Rio Rancho was clearly the more versatile group, especially at the offensive end.
In the paint, Elmalhy, Keshawn Banks and Derrick Reyes were too big and physical for the Matadors, combining to score 30 points.
“I knew once we got the ball inside, we would be successful, and we were,” Rio Rancho coach Wally Salata said.
Senior point guard Juan Hurt led the Rams with 24 points, but from the perimeter, it was the work of 6-foot-4 senior wing Jeremy Snider, who had four 3-pointers and 13 points, that were arguably more important to the cause.
Snider buried a pair of 3s within moments of each other early in the second quarter when Rio Rancho seized control. Those bombs, along with a steal and finish by Hurt, staked the Rams to a 26-13 lead early in the quarter.
The Matadors never got closer than seven points the rest of the game.
And when Sandia did get to within seven, 49-42 early in the fourth quarter, it was Snider, from the far corner, who hit his final 3 of the night and the lead was back to 10 at 52-42.
“I think for us it was the defense and the rebounding,” said Snider. “And just pushing it as much as we can.”
The game was only truly close in the first quarter, when it was tied four times. Elmalhy had two late baskets as the Rams led 18-13 after eight minutes. Then Snider’s 3s sent Rio Rancho on its way.
“Give them credit; they played their like they’ve been there and done that,” said Sandia coach Alvin Broussard. “They’re a high octane team. They can score in a variety of ways and they’re very good at what they do.”
Guard Jhonah Callahan did not score a single point for Sandia.
He had been a 3-point machine in the first three games of this tournament, but he was held scoreless by the Rams on Monday night. Salata said it was important that Rio Rancho negate him early, when Callahan had been doing great damage.
“They jumped out early on all three of those teams (earlier in the tournament),” Salata said, referencing Cibola, Hope Christian and Volcano Vista.
“We had to come out and punch Sandia in the mouth, and I thought we did that,” Salata added.
Tanner Sloan led Sandia with 18 points.
Both Rio Rancho and the Matadors have a couple of games this week before district play opens next week.
In an odd third-place game, No. 10 seed Volcano Vista overcame a dismal 10-point first half and rallied to defeat No. 1 Albuquerque High 51-47 in overtime. Sophomore Cesar Madrid delivered key baskets at the end of regulation and the OT for the Hawks.