Top-seeded Horsemen cruise into quarterfinal
Robertson rolls S.F. Prep, while SFIS survives a scare
You know a postseason game is going well when the senior who has barely touched the ball all year comes off the bench late in the game and nails what his coach believes might have been his first points of the entire season.
That’s exactly what happened in the waning moments of Saturday night’s boys basketball Class 3A State Tournament opening round game in Perez-Shelley Memorial Gymnasium. With top-seeded St. Michael’s well on its way to a 75-42 rout of visiting Tucumcari, forward Gage Bass checked in and drained a 3-pointer from the wing with 3:53 left.
It sent the Horsemen student section nuts and got everyone on the team’s bench onto their feet. Bass celebrated by blowing a huge kiss — for the old-timers, think the sign off for The Dating Game — as he ran down the court.
“He’s a kid who always passes up the shot,” said St. Michael’s coach Gerard Garcia. “I’m not sure if he’s scored all year, so for the kids to see him do that, it was pretty exciting.”
Even more exciting is that the Horsemen extended their winning streak to 19 games and secured a spot in next week’s state quarterfinals against No. 9 seed Socorro. One of two lower seeds to win a 3A game Friday, Socorro knocked off No. 8 Tohatchi.
All quarterfinal games will be Wednesday in the Rio Rancho Events Center, with the semifinals and championship games in The Pit. The Horsemen and Socorro tip off at 4:45 on Wednesday afternoon.
Other winners had No. 4 Sandia Prep edging Newcomb, 67-65, and No. 5 Crownpoint rallying past West Las Vegas, 61-60. Sandia Prep faces Crownpoint at 1:15 p.m. on Wednesday.
The other half of the bracket saw No. 3 Robertson beat Santa Fe Prep, 71-55, and No. 11 Ruidoso upset No. 6 Bosque, 74-68. Robertson and Ruidoso will play at 9:45 a.m.
San Fe Indian School survived a scare from No. 10 Hot Springs, winning 44-43 at the Pueblo Pavilion. The seventh-seeded Braves will meet No. 2 Navajo Prep on Wednesday at 8:15 p.m. Navajo Prep hammered Cobre, 73-26.
St. Michael’s needed little more than a quarter to start putting Tucumcari away. As usual, it started with Adam Montoya. The Horsemen senior finished with a game-high 34 points, scoring the final 21 straight points for his team between the first and second quarters. It was a remarkable display of explosive drives to the basket and jumpers ranging from a few feet to outside the 3-point arc.
One of the most dynamic players in the state, he simply couldn’t be stopped
by a Tucumcari defense that had no one to guard him. He ended the first half with 26 points, capping it with a four-point play to open a 42-26 advantage at the break.
The Horsemen blew the game wide open to start the third quarter. They scored the first 14 points of the second half and pushed the margin to 35 on a free throw by Lucas Gurule early in the fourth quarter. It ushered in the running clock, giving players like Bass and eighth grader Ryan Hunt a chance to get some playing time.
Hunt scored the final two points of the night, grabbing a rebound off a missed shot by Creed Chavez and putting it back in with 42 seconds left. It, too, drew a huge cheer from the student section and came just moments after Hunt missed a pair of free throws and a midrange jumper that brought the crowd to its feet in anticipation.
“Right now, we’re taking everyone’s best punch,” Garcia said. “For us to put some of these teams away and get everyone some playing time is big for us. We’re playing well and these guys, it’s fun for all of them when we have games like this.” NOTES
Sabi Rios had nine points for the Horsemen while Gurule had eight. Josh Sanchez and Reed Bass, Gage’s younger brother, each had six . ... St. Michael’s has not lost since the opening round of the Stu Clark Tournament when it was beaten by Pecos way back on Dec. 27 . ... The team’s 24 wins are its most since the 2013-14 season when the Horsemen went 24-8 and lost in the state championship game to Hope Christian . ... Garcia is now 37-7 since taking over as interim coach on Jan. 28, 2022. He was named the permanent head coach after last season.