2023 New Mexico high school state basketball tournament. Today, the boys state quarterfinals take place in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
KEY PLAYERS
Quarterfinals: Top Player Performances
First Round: Top Player Performances
5A BASKETBALL
No. 1 Volcano Vista 54, No. 9 Atrisco Heritage 49 - Final
Recap: Defending 5A champ Volcano Vista keeps their season rolling along and into the Final Four following their 54-49 win over Atrisco Heritage. Big man Sean Alter led the way for the Hawks scoring 14 points, grabbing 15 rebounds, and adding 4 blocks to his stat line. Fellow big Kenyon Aguino also added 14 points to go with eight rebounds on the night and both Anthony Gonzales and Rian Gonzales chipped in nine points apiece. The Hawks spoiled a big night and game for the Jaguars Latavious Morris who led all scorers with 25 points. The Hawks will now face Organ Mountain tomorrow night.
No. 2 Sandia 64, No. 7 Cleveland 62 - Final/OT
Recap: Sandia storms back on Storm, trailing 50-42 with 3:52 left in the fourth quarter the Matadors led by Andrew Hill came back tie the game at 56, sending the game to overtime. During the quarter closing run Hill canned three triples, and then for good good measure added another in overtime as Sandia outlasted Cleveland 64-62. Hill finished the game with 32 points and Dalen Moyer added 10, including what ended up being the game winning bucket with a second left in overtime. Remy Albrecht led the Storm with 20 points and Daniel Steverson who battled foul trouble all night long finished with 18 points. The Matadors will face the Tigers of Los Lunas in the Final Four tomorrow evening.
No. 3 Los Lunas 46, No. 11 La Cueva 45 - Final
Recap: Survive and advance is the name of the game this time of year, and Los Lunas did just that with a 46-45 win over La Cueva. Jalin Holland was an unstoppable force for the Tigers, leading all scorers with 23 points while also pulling down six rebounds and blocking two shots. It was Ezra Guest who hit the game winner in the closing seconds, giving him nine total for the game. Leading the Bears was Cedarius Yates with 15 points and right behind him was Daniel Lovato with 12. The Tigers advance to the Final Four where they will either meet Sandia or Cleveland.
No. 5 Organ Mountain 59, No. 4 West Mesa 55 - Final
Recap: The Organ Mountain Knights came out firing, took the lead at 3-0 with a three from Amaryon Bynum and never let go of the lead the rest of the way. Punching their ticket to the Final Four with a 59-55 win over West Mesa. Brandon Kehres scored six of the first nine points for the Knights, in route to a monster 15 point opening frame. Kehres finished the game with 24 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Yehni Wilson added 13 points while adding 4 assists. Elijah Brody led the Mustangs with 15 points, followed by Donova Cruz with 12 and Brandon Lagunas finished with 11 points. The Knights will now wait until late tonight to find out who they will face in the Final Four, as they get the winner of #1 Volcano Vista and #9 Atrisco Heritage.
4A BASKETBALL
No. 1 Albuquerque Academy 67, No. 8 Deming 46 - Final
Recap: From the tip it was a shooting display by Albuquerque Academy. The top-ranked Chargers shot an impressive 53% from the field (43% from 3-pointers) during the game. Dillon McCleskey, (22 points), Joe Jack (11 points), Kellan Gehres (11 points) and Justin Mask (12 points) led the way again for the Chargers.
After struggling to find a bucket in the opening quarter the Deming Wildcats went to All-New Mexico team nominee Alexander Alfaro who finished the day with 24 points.
Albuquerque Academy moves to Thursday's Final Four against the winner of 12-Valley and 4-Artesia. Deming ends their season 19-12 overall.
No. 6 Hope Christian 59, No. 3 St. Pius X 45 - Final
Recap: The Hope Christian Huskies came out firing, nine of their first ten shots of the game coming behind the three-point line. The Huskies were led by Mr. Basketball candidate Jett Wyckoff who poured in 16 points along with pulling down 5 rebounds. Noah Perry displayed his shooting touch dropping 20 points and dishing out 3 assists. Christian Schermerhorn also in double figures with 10 points for Hope Christian.
The Huskies move into Thursday's Final Four and await the winner between #2 Highland and #7 Taos. St. Pius X ends their season 19-11.
The Sartans received 12 points from senior forward Gene Trujillo. Jason Montoya (2024) also displayed a nice shooting touch scoring 11 points.
No. 7 Taos 56, No. 2 Highland 54 - Final
Mateo Salazar may have only finished the game with five points, but he finished the game with his corner three to send the Taos Tigers to the Final Four, 56-54 over Highland. Daemon Ely was the only Tiger to crack double-digits in points, finishing with a game high 24 points while also pulling down nine rebounds. Isaiah Apodaca added 9 points for Taos on the night. Seregio Acosta led the way Highland, finishing with 21 points and Alexis Dominguez chipped in 14. Taos will now face Hope Christian tomorrow night in your classic #6 vs #7 semifinal matchup.
No. 12 Valley 49, No. 4 Artesia 48 - Final
Recap: Cinderella is not done yet! The #11 Valley Vikings are on to the Final Four following their 49-48 victory over #4 Artesia. Tyler Kozlowski led the Vikings with 18 points and Julian Chavez, who hit the game winning shot in the closing seconds finished with 12 points. Nick Sanchez did all he could for Artesia, pouring in 24 points and adding 4 assists in the losing effort. Valley will now face top-seeded Albuquerque Academy tomorrow afternoon.
