Matadors survive late scare from Eldorado
Cleveland boys, ranked No. 1, win by 31 points
Sapirah Broussard’s 3-pointer with 1:25 remaining put the Sandia High School girls basketball team up eight on Eldorado and the visiting Matadors won their season opener. But not without some sweaty palms. Sandia nearly wasted all of that eightpoint lead. Eldorado missed a 3-pointer with 4 seconds remaining and Viane Cumber blocked a put-back attempt as time expired as the Matadors escaped with a 52-51 victory on Tuesday night.
“I’m happy that we won,” Sandia coach Lee Kettig said, “but I’m proud of them because we battled every single possession.”
In a game of runs, Eldorado had the last one. Laney Lucero nailed a pair of 3-pointers for the Eagles, the last one cutting the deficit to 52-51 with 19 seconds to go. A Sandia turnover allowed the Eagles to have two late tries to steal this one from under Sandia’s feet.
Broussard finished with 18 points. She is the only senior on the varsity roster. Kettig dressed nine sophomores Tuesday, including Cumber, who was making her Sandia debut after missing last season with a knee injury.
“Sometimes, it’s frustrating (having so much youth),” Broussard said with a weary smile, “but in the end, I hold it together.”
Broussard’s 3 was the second try for her in that sequence; she had air-balled one just seconds earlier that was tracked down by a teammate before it was kicked back out to her for a 23-footer. That made it 51-43. Broussard also added a free throw with 31.4 seconds remaining.
Lucero scored 12 of her team-high 23 points in the fourth quarter, even as she clearly was dealing with a bad back, which was being rubbed by assistant coaches during every timeout.
Cumber had 15 points for Sandia. — James Yodice ALSO TUESDAY: Bernalillo freshman guard Juliana Aragon had 44 points for the Spartans in a 71-66 victory over visiting Grants. … Desiree Forster had 14 points for Cleveland, which improved to 4-0 after a 57-31 victory over visiting Albuquerque High. Boys ELDORADO 85, SANDIA 67: At Eldorado, the second-ranked Eagles poured in 13, 3-pointers, and senior point guard Tyler Quintana had a team-high 26 points in a victory over the 10th-ranked Matadors.
Up six early in the third quarter, the Eagles used a 12-3 run to gain separation and the game wasn’t close from there.
Lucas Jordan had 28 points, including eight 3s, for Sandia. He had 18 points in the first 11 minutes, including six 3s, before the Eagles began to defend him a little tighter. ALSO TUESDAY: Cleveland overcame a slow start with a huge second half, and Aamer Muhammad had 22 points and Jalen Munn 21 to lead the top-ranked Storm to a 103-72 win over visiting Albuquerque High. … Brady Forde’s 34 points helped Albuquerque Academy past Bosque School 76-72. … Visiting Valley outscored Belen 35-15 in the second half en route to a 56-41 victory over the Eagles. … Joziah Ramos’ 21 points led Atrisco Heritage past visiting Valencia 94-63.