Today, kicked off several holiday classics around the state of New Mexico. NMPreps.com was at the Rio Rancho Holiday Classic watching first round action at Rio Rancho High School.

The morning game started off slow and quiet for both teams in this first round game. The EP Coronado T-Birds and Sandia Prep Sundevils (No. 21 NMPreps.com Top 25) stayed close throughout the first half going into the half with a score 18-17 in favor of the Sundevils. The T-Birds came out with a killer "D" in the second half going on a 12-3 run to start the third quarter led by transition points from its quick guards. The Sundevils did cut the led to 4 with a nice 7-3 run of their own but it was all T-Birds in the 4th to a 46-34 win.

No. 16 Rio Rancho 64, Onate 57

The host team for the Rio Rancho Classic, Rio Rancho Rams (No. 16 NMPreps.com Top 25) played the second game of the day against Onate High School of Las Cruces. This one stayed close the entire game and focused on several runs back and forth. The Rams who came out pressing found some high percentage buckets off the transition. The Rams raced to a 17-10 first quarter lead, led by post man Daniel Hayes who finished the night with 13 points in what could be his highlight game. After the Rams pushed the lead to as many as 12 points the Knights fought back and put on a run of their own cutting the lead to five by halftime, 29-24 Onate extended it's run into the second half to start the third quarter on a 8-2 run taking the lead 32-31. The Rams went on a scoring spree after the four minute mark though scoring 18 points to take a 50-42 3rd quarter lead.Staying strong in control of the ball and using the clock the Rams fought of several Onate attempts to cut the lead to win 64-57. Daniel Hayes 13 points and Nick Tartaglia 11 points led the way for the Rams. Sammy Barnes 17 points and Brandon Rosales 16 points were the high point players for the Knights.

The Hope Huskies (No. 1 NMPreps.com Top 25) took control from the start of this one lead by it's tenacious defense which could be regarded as one of the best in the state. The Huskies raced to a 20-14 first quarter lead over the Mayfield Trojans (No. 15 NMPreps.com Top 25). The Trojans did have spurts of attempting to cut the Husky lead led by three point shooter Orlando Benavente, who finished the night with a team high 11 points. The Huskies though could not be contained and led by its fast break points, Husky guards Tommy Riley (16 points) and Micah Murphy (12 points) led the way to a 68-54 first round win.

From the time they entered the gym, the Braves of Santa Fe Indian School were the underdog. After the past couple weeks they have lost their head coach and several players. Entering today's game with only six players. (Hoosiers anyone). Well, there was no hoosier moment in this one it was all Ravens from the tip-off. Led by some sharp shooting guards in Arturo Garcia 13 points and Aaron Tonihka 13 points the Ravens shot extremely well from beyond the arch. Also, the Braves had no answer for Raven post men Jayleen Spraggins 13 points and Mike Torres who could have scored at will. The Ravens will face the No. 1 Hope Huskies in the night

The Capital Jaguars topped the St. Pius X Sartans during the Stu Clark Invite and it took overtime to do so. Jaguar Paul Toya hit the game winning layup with 2.3 seconds left to give the Jags the final boost in a much needed win. The Jaguars move into the semifinal round of the tournament where they will face the Bernalillo Spartans who beat West Las Vegas during the first round.

James Healy lead the charge as the Cibola Cougars topped Nogales in a wild finish at the Southwest Dairy Classic. The Cougars will take on God's Way out of Houston, Texas in the finals. Cibola is now 6-3 on the season.

Matt Barlea scored 21 points to push the Horsemen's overall record to 8-2 on the season. The Horsemen found themselves in the consolation tournament after losing to God's Way during round one, however they played big time during their second game. Anthony Garcia scored 20 for the Horsemen to go along with Barela's big night.

The Alamogordo Tigers will advance to the semifinal round of the VFW Tournament with a close four point win over Fabens. The Tigers shot 51% from the field and scored 69 points which was the most the offense has put up all year long. Senior Quinci Hester lead the Tigers with 11 points.

The Espanola Valley Sundevils improved to 9-4 beating the Horsemen Wednesday night to advance to play Taos in the annual Lady Horsemen Tournament. The Sundevils were led by Lauren Quintana who scored a game high 22 points and Laura Duran who scored 13 points.

The Lady Bulldawgs got a wonderful effort from Samantha Mendoza who scored 18 points to lead the Dawgs into the semifinals of the Annual Hoopla Tournament. Mendoza hit four three pointers on the night as Las Cruces looked solid from start to finish.

The Onate Black Knights looked strong Wednesday night against Socorro, Texas and will advance to play the number one ranked team in New Mexico from the Albuquerque, the Volcano Vista Hawks who defeated Hobbs during the first round. Alexyss Burkartsmeier scored 14 points to lead Onate.