NMPreps.com's recap of the 3A semi-final contest between No. 4 Sandia Prep and No. 1 Robertson.
New Mexico High School State Tournament
#4 Sandia Prep 55, #1 Robertson 51
Sandia Prep survived a late fourth-quarter surge from Robertson to take down the top-ranked Cardinals 55-51 Wednesday night. Sandia Prep used strong interior defense down low, solid offensive play, and a 12-2 soaring run to jump out to a quick 17-11 lead at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, Senior Sam Henderson came alive and scored eight points, including two threes and a layup to extend the Sandia Prep lead to 11, 27-16. Mateo Contreras (2024) provided a spark into the locker room for the Cardinals when he hit a layup and free throw and cut the Sandia Prep lead to 27-19 going into the break.
To start the second quarter the Sundevils came out aggressive and got two buckets in the paint and a dunk from Henderson (2021) to help them go on a 10-5 run to start the half. Austin Epstein (2021) and Mac Manzanares (2022) dominated the paint in the third quarter and combined for eight points along with solid production on the boards. This helped Sandia Prep carry a comfortable 39-26 lead going into the fourth.
The Cardinals did not give up. Robertson forced five straight Sundevil turnovers at the beginning of the fourth quarter and went on a 6-0 run to bring the game to within 6, 47-41 midway through the fourth. The Cardinals had 25 points in the fourth quarter including 12 from Nicholas Marrujo (2021) but it wasn't enough and Sandia Prep escaped with an upset victory.
Sam Henderson (2021) from Sandia Prep led all scorers with 26 points on the night. Mac Manzaneras (2022) followed with 14 and Austin Epstein (2021) tacked on 10. Nicholas Marrujo (2021) led the Cardinals with 14 points, followed by Mathew Gonzales (2022) with 13 and Derek Montano (2021) with 12.
#4 Sandia Prep will move on to face #2, Hot Springs.
