State hopefuls winnowed down to 80
The field of 160 basketball teams has been chopped in half, leaving 80 clubs spread across 10 different classifications in a sprint to the finish line for the coveted blue trophy.
For the numbers geeks, the top three seeds in every class for boys and girls were a spotless 10-0, with the 4 and 5 seeds going 9-1. Overall, the better seed won 63 of the 80 games over the weekend. Of the underdogs, the No. 9 seed went 7-3 while the 10-seed went .500.
The 11-seed won three times, including Clayton’s girls stunning perennial power Texico in 2A and Clovis Christian’s girls winning the lowest-scoring game in the opening round with a 26-25 upset of Gateway Christian in 1A.
The biggest upset by seeds? Both on the boys’ side with No. 13 Cimarron shocking No. 4 Evangel Christian/Oak Grove Classical, 56-52, and Volcano Vista’s laughably low 12-seed taking down two-time defending 5A champ Atrisco Heritage, 53-51, in overtime.
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While the unruly actions of players, coaches and fans often get attention, sometimes the good side needs to be highlighted. Enter Loving head coach
Derrick Martinez.
The wound of Friday’s 64-49 season-ending loss to top seed Peñasco was still raw, but Martinez posted a comment praising the team and the school on Facebook not even an hour after the final buzzer. Calling it a “hard fought game [sic],” Martinez thanked the school for its hospitality and the kind words from all he met.
“Y’all are truly amazing,” Martinez wrote. “To Coach Mandy and the Peñasco Lady Panthers just want to say good luck the rest of the way the Loving Lady Falcons will be cheering for y’all.”
His team might not win a state championship this year, but Martinez has championship class to make up for it.
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For anyone planning to watch local teams, there’s a problem Wednesday. Tuesday, not so much.
All but one game involving Santa Fe-area teams in the respective girls’ brackets in Tuesday’s quarterfinals is scheduled for Rio Rancho’s Santa Ana Star Center. The outlier is in Class 4A, where Pojoaque Valley faces Albuquerque Highland in The Pit.
Plan to start early. The day’s first game has defending 3A champ Las Vegas Robertson going against Tularosa at 9:45 a.m. with four more games scheduled throughout the remainder of the day. The last one tips off at 8:15 p.m. in what should be a crowded environment between Santa Fe Indian School and Tohatchi.
Wednesday, watchers are on their own. The boys’ schedule features more headache-inducing options than one’s noodle can possibly handle.
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The path to the Class 3A championship game will be filled with familiar faces for the
Tohatchi Lady Cougars.
If Tohatchi, the third seed in the 3A tournament, gets to Friday’s title game, it can thank playing every team left on the bottom half of the bracket during the regular season. The Lady Cougars take on No. 6 Santa Fe Indian School in Tuesday’s quarterfinal round, a team they beat 50-38 in the championship game of Capital’s Al Armendariz Tournament on Dec. 14. Provided they win that game, their semifinal opponent will be either No. 10 Las Vegas Robertson or No. 2 Tularosa.
The Lady Cougars beat the Lady Cardinals, 43-36, at home on Jan. 14, while the Lady Wildcats own a 62-59 win over Tohatchi in the first round of the Texico Tournament on Dec. 19.
If Tohatchi wants to keep that theme, its only hope of getting a regular-season rematch in the title game will be against No. 1 Navajo Prep, which beat the Lady Cougars both times in District 1-3A play.