Oñate, Rio Rancho boys set for showdown in final
RIO RANCHO — The Oñate Knights have dismissed Cleveland, Hope Christian — and now Eldorado — in succession. That trio represents some of the metro area’s elite boys basketball.
Tonight, Oñate gets a crack at the defending Class 6A state champions.
The Knights held off Eldorado 68-60, while host Rio Rancho pulled away in the second half for a 79-60 victory over Española Valley in the semifinals of Rio Rancho’s Holiday Hoops Tournament on Thursday night.
The Rams (7-4) and Knights (10-2) play at 7 p.m. today for the title.
For Rio Rancho, it was no coincidence that senior guard Juan Hurt’s huge second half and the final margin of victory were closely aligned.
Hurt scored 18 of his team-best 20 points after halftime, also impacting the game with steals and assists, in what was one of Rio Rancho’s best showings of the season.
“I thought it was a complete game tonight by a complete team,” Ram coach Wally Salata said.
He’s only had a full lineup for 1¾ games. His point guard, Clay Patterson, was injured in the Artesia tournament on Dec. 8 and will be out until the start of district (several more weeks). Two key members of last season’s championship team, Nic Little and Dakota Carrasco, left the team as they chose to focus on football, according to Salata.
In the meantime, Salata has been juggling, trying to find balance with his lineup choices.
There was more flow and symmetry Thursday than there was during a sluggish first-round win over Mayfield on Wednesday. The starters and reserves all got involved to various degrees against the Sundevils (9-3).
This was especially true of Hurt, who sparked a 19-0 run when the Sundevils had crawled to within three at 46-43 with 3:10 left in the third quarter.
Hurt buried two 3-pointers in those final three minutes, and also had a marvelous length-of-floor drive that ended with a basket and foul, and subsequent three-point play.
“It was very fun,” Hurt said. “We played a good team and we played strong.”
But Hurt was not eager to accept too much credit.
“In the first half, I really wanted to get the team more involved,” he said. “I was told to shoot, but if people were open, I got them the ball.” For Oñate, senior forward Josh Harrison had five points during a 7-0 run late in the game as the Knights put some distance between themselves and the Eagles (4-2). Harrison finished with a team-best 26 points.
“I’ve said it half a dozen times: we have experience coming back, so to me, (our 10-2 start) is not a surprise,” Oñate coach Saul Perez said. “And it’s not a surprise to our players.”
Losing forward Johnny McCants — arguably the state’s best player last season; now at New Mexico State — to graduation has not impacted the Knights much, if at all. They returned seven players from a team that reached the state semifinals last March, including four starting guards. Those guards, and their bigs, like Harrison, are carrying things nicely for Oñate.
“I think at the beginning of the season, we weren’t seen as doing a lot,” said Harrison. “All of us took that personally, and it put a fire under us to work harder.
“After losing (McCants), that’s pushed a lot of guys to be better scorers and better defenders.”
Tanner Carter led Eldorado with 16 points. The Eagles meet Española Valley for third place at 5 p.m. today.
Hope Christian (7-1) bounced back from its first loss of the season to defeat Piedra Vista 61-49 in the consolation bracket Thursday.
LOS LUNAS TOURNAMENT: Volcano Vista and Los Lunas will meet at 7:30 tonight in the final. The Hawks (4-4) whipped Valencia 75-36, with David Cormier scoring a team-high 17 points. The Tigers (9-1) downed Alamogordo 49-41, with Martin Trujillo leading the Tigers with 20 points.
STU CLARK INVITATIONAL: West Las Vegas defeated St. Pius, and Atrisco Heritage downed Robertson, in Thursday’s semis. The Dons and Jaguars meet tonight in the championship game at 7:30 p.m. in West Las Vegas.
For Atrisco Heritage in its 84-55 rout of the Cardinals, Diego Ortega scored 26 points — and hit eight 3-pointers — in the win. West Las Vegas beat St. Pius 61-56 in the late semi Thursday.