A longshot, a long shot, a rally, OT
Del Norte, Los Lunas, Roswell, Capital survive the quarterfinals
No. 13 seed Del Norte surprised Belen, No. 1 Roswell needed overtime, No. 2 Capital needed a go-ahead shot in the closing seconds, and No. 6 Los Lunas needed a big rally. But all survived Wednesday’s Class 5A boys quarterfinal round at the Pit.
Next up: Capital faces Los Lunas and Roswell will meet Del Norte in today’s semifinals, also at the Pit.
No. 13 DEL NORTE 59, No. 5
BELEN 52: Cinderella is alive and well as the Knights won back-to-back games for the first time in two months and advanced to the semifinals by ousting Belen (21-8) .
Daniel Flores had a gamehigh 16 points for the Knights (15-14), and reserve guard Jalen Thompson scored 14.
The two guards combined to go 8-for-10 from the foul line in the fourth quarter, and the Knights as a team went 15-for20 from the line over the final eight minutes.
“We work on shooting free throws every single day of practice,” said Thompson, whose club faces top-seeded Roswell today at 3 p.m. “We work on them when we’re tired, and we work on them when we’re fresh. We just have to get to the line and knock them down.”
Del Norte is one of two double-digit seeds from the metro area still alive in the tournament, the other being Volcano Vista as the 12th seed in 6A boys.
And there is a direct connection between the two schools as first-year Del Norte coach Jeron McIntosh was an assistant coach at Volcano Vista the previous four seasons under Greg Brown.
“I hope it keeps going for the both of us,” McIntosh said. “It’s awesome seeing them having success and winning, and it’s awesome to see us having success.”
Gabriel Chivara had 15 points to lead Belen, which came as close as 40-36 early in the fourth.
“(Del Norte) is battle-tested, and they barely lost to Volcano Vista,” said Belen coach Pablo Gabaldon. “They’re a good team, and I would not be surprised if they win (today).” — Patrick Newell No. 1 ROSWELL 81, No. 9 KIRTLAND CENTRAL 80 (OT): Chris Mesquita hit three 3-pointers in overtime and flirted with a triple-double as the Coyotes (23-4) edged the Broncos (18-11) in a shootout.
Mesquita racked up 22 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists and made arguably the biggest plays in overtime after the Broncos grabbed a 72-68 lead. Mesquita drained a 3 to make it 72-71, hit another to tie the score at 74, then swished a third to give Roswell a 77-76 lead. They were his only 3-point attempts of the game.
Garret Smothermon also had a monster performance with 25 points for Roswell.
Bryson Dowdy scored 23 points for the Broncos and hit a tying 3-pointer late in regulation.
No. 6 LOS LUNAS 63, No. 3
FARMINGTON 51: In the Pit, Kayden Walker-Gabaldon sparked a wild fourth-quarter comeback as the Tigers (25-5) turned a nine-point deficit into a double-digit win.
Farmington (26-4) dominated the boards and led throughout the first three quarters behind Sol Rascon, Nicholas Granger and David Riley. The trio combined for 43 points and 21 rebounds.
Walker-Gabaldon scored 16 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter.
No. 2 CAPITAL 48, No. 7
ALAMOGORDO 45: In the Pit, Matt Smith drained a long 3-pointer with 3 seconds remaining to give the Jaguars (24-5) a dramatic win over the Tigers (20-9).
After Alamo’s Dee Smith scored to forge a 45-45 tie with 8 seconds left, Capital brought the ball upcourt and found a trailing Smith, who pulled up and hit the go-ahead 3. The basket capped an impressive second half for the Jags, who trailed 27-18 at halftime and was on the short end of the scoreboard for most of the game.
Smith had a game-high 20 points for the Tigers, who had their way attacking the basket in the first half. But Capital tightened its defense in the second half and Alamogordo’s ball-handling wilted under the pressure. The Tigers finished with 26 turnovers.