NORTHERN EXPOSURE
Holiday hoops abound this week, starting in Alaska
Ordinarily, it would be accurate to say that there will be an abundance of post-Christmas, pre-New Year’s prep basketball all over New Mexico this week.
And that remains true. What has changed is the geography. This year, the trail of holiday hoops stretches from Hobbs to … Alaska.
Teams from the metro area will indeed be scattered across the state, but also outside the continental United States in a busy few days between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Most prominently, the Albuquerque High boys and girls are visiting Juneau, Alaska, for the Princess Capital City Classic. The Bulldogs will be playing three games in four days, starting Wednesday.
Albuquerque Public Schools opened the door almost two years ago for an APS team to leave the state once per season, but only if that team raises all the money needed to travel. (The Volcano Vista girls last week competed at the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix, for example.)
Coming off their matchup in the championship game of Cleveland’s Phil Griego Invitational, the Storm and No. 1-ranked Volcano Vista’s boys both are entered at the 64th annual Hobbs Holiday Tournament, one of the state’s most revered events.
It runs Thursday through Saturday. The Hawks face Hirschi, Texas, in the first round, while Cleveland meets Artesia. Both those games are in the bottom half of the bracket, so Cleveland and Volcano Vista could meet Friday in the semifinals.
Farmington and the host Eagles, along with Centennial, are in the top half of the bracket.
Volcano Vista and Farmington, along with the host Eagles, are all in the girls portion of the Hobbs Holiday Tournament. The Hawks face Centennial, and could square off with another Class 5A power, Farmington, in the second round. No. 1 Hobbs and Piedra Vista both are in the top half of the bracket.
Rio Rancho’s boys are hosting their annual Jalene Berger Holiday Hoops Classic starting Wednesday.
Española Valley plays Hope Christian at 1 p.m. Wednesday, followed by St. Pius-Santa Fe at 3 p.m., Navajo Prep-Highland at 5 p.m., and the host team versus Sandia Prep at 7 p.m. The Navajo Prep-Highland pairing is certainly the most alluring of the four, as the Eagles are
ranked No. 1 in Class 3A and the Hornets are rated No. 2 in 4A.
The semifinals are at 5 and 7 p.m. Thursday, with the championship game at 7 p.m. Friday.
Atrisco Heritage’s boys, ranked No. 3 in Class 5A behind Volcano Vista and Cleveland — who are all in the same district — are in Las Cruces this week for the Las Cruces Holiday Hoopla event at Mayfield High School.
The Jaguars take on Deming in the first round on Thursday, and will play either Organ Mountain or Valencia in the second round on Friday.
Los Lunas is also part of the field; the Tigers face Harmony School of Innovation out of El Paso on Thursday, with Mayfield playing Santa Teresa also in that half of the bracket.
The championship game is 2:15 Saturday afternoon.
The Atrisco girls also are in Las Cruces for the Holiday Hoopla tournament, also at Mayfield. The Jaguars play Deming in the first round. Other firstround contests are Santa Teresa-Organ Mountain, El Paso Burges-Los Lunas and Valencia-Mayfield.
The girls final is 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
Eldorado’s boys are at the Poe Corn Invitational at Roswell High starting Wednesday.
The Eagles play Lovington in the first round. Clovis-Los Alamos, Kirtland Central-Eldorado and Piedra Vista-Roswell are the other quarterfinal matchups. The title game is Friday afternoon at 3:30.