Down goes another defending state champ.
La Cueva avenged a loss to Rio Rancho in last year's semifinals with a 87-77 win this morning at The Pit.
So far half of last year's 10 champs are out. All that's left on the girls side is Texico in Class 2A. St. Pius X boys survived this morning. St. Michael's (Class 3A), Mesilla Valley (2A) and Gateway Christian are also left.
Here's today's scores (check back later for more) ...
Class 4A
No. 2 St. Pius X 57,
No. 7 Los Alamos 50
Class 2A
No. 2 Texico 64,
No. 7 Monte Del Sol 61
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Tuesday's scores: Evening edition
Lots of upsets this morning, nothing to speak of tonight.
Here are the rest of the scores (for other finals check older entries) ...
Class 5A
No. 2 Eldorado 51,
No. 10 Hobbs 37
No. 1 La Cueva 63
No. 8 Sandia 54
Class 4A
No. 3 Roswell 54,
No. 6 Shiprock 49 (OT)
No. 1 Kirtland Central 67,
No. 8 Deming 44
Class 3A
No. 1 St. Michael's 46,
No. 8 Robertson 44
No. 3 Pojoaque 62,
No. 11 Thoreau 23
Class 2A
No. 3 Mora 63,
No. 6 Coronado 54
Class 1A
No. 5 Animas 66,
No. 4 Gallup Catholic 60 (OT)
No. 2 Elida 57,
No. 7 Grady 49
No. 6 Magdalena 70,
No. 3 Cimarron 63
Here are the rest of the scores (for other finals check older entries) ...
Class 5A
No. 2 Eldorado 51,
No. 10 Hobbs 37
No. 1 La Cueva 63
No. 8 Sandia 54
Class 4A
No. 3 Roswell 54,
No. 6 Shiprock 49 (OT)
No. 1 Kirtland Central 67,
No. 8 Deming 44
Class 3A
No. 1 St. Michael's 46,
No. 8 Robertson 44
No. 3 Pojoaque 62,
No. 11 Thoreau 23
Class 2A
No. 3 Mora 63,
No. 6 Coronado 54
Class 1A
No. 5 Animas 66,
No. 4 Gallup Catholic 60 (OT)
No. 2 Elida 57,
No. 7 Grady 49
No. 6 Magdalena 70,
No. 3 Cimarron 63
Tuesday's scores: Afternoon edition
Play.
That was the word Rio Rancho girls basketball coach Bob McIntyre wanted his Rams to think about during halftime today in their Class 5A quarterfinal.
Athletic Alamogordo dominated No. 3 seed Rio Rancho for most of the first half. The No. 6 Tigers led by seven at the half. It had been as high as 12 points.
Rio Rancho relaxed in the second half -- easy to do with Megan Muniz at the wheel -- and rolled to a 54-44 win. Muniz, who might be the smoothest, most skilled perimeter player in the state, finished with 26 points, three assists and three rebounds. Perhaps most impressive: She scored 16 straight points for the Rams during a run that spanned the third and fourth quarters.
Here are some more scores (remember it's all girls games today). For earlier results check earlier entries.
Class 4A
No. 4 Moriarty 63,
No. 12 Piedra Vista 26
No. 2 St. Pius X 46
No. 10 Del Norte 25
Class 3A
No. 12 Lovington 68
No 4 Hope Christian 59
Class 2A
No. 1 Navajo Pine 69
No. 8 Tularosa 50
No. 4 Rehoboth 56
No. 5 Lordsburg 50
Class 1A
No. 1 Cliff 60
No. 8 Clovis Christian 39
That was the word Rio Rancho girls basketball coach Bob McIntyre wanted his Rams to think about during halftime today in their Class 5A quarterfinal.
Athletic Alamogordo dominated No. 3 seed Rio Rancho for most of the first half. The No. 6 Tigers led by seven at the half. It had been as high as 12 points.
Rio Rancho relaxed in the second half -- easy to do with Megan Muniz at the wheel -- and rolled to a 54-44 win. Muniz, who might be the smoothest, most skilled perimeter player in the state, finished with 26 points, three assists and three rebounds. Perhaps most impressive: She scored 16 straight points for the Rams during a run that spanned the third and fourth quarters.
Here are some more scores (remember it's all girls games today). For earlier results check earlier entries.
Class 4A
No. 4 Moriarty 63,
No. 12 Piedra Vista 26
No. 2 St. Pius X 46
No. 10 Del Norte 25
Class 3A
No. 12 Lovington 68
No 4 Hope Christian 59
Class 2A
No. 1 Navajo Pine 69
No. 8 Tularosa 50
No. 4 Rehoboth 56
No. 5 Lordsburg 50
Class 1A
No. 1 Cliff 60
No. 8 Clovis Christian 39
Two completed Pit games, two upsets
We've had two games and a No. 2 seed and a No. 4 are going home.
Welcome to the state tournament.
The biggest surprise came in the first girls game when No. 10 seed Santa Fe Indian knocked off No. 2 Portales, 41-35. The Rams had been a fixture in the Class 3A title game.
In Class 5A No. 5 Las Cruces High edged No. 4 Cibola, 43-39.
In Class 2A No. 2 Texico thumped No. 7 Bosque School, 60-29, at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho.
I'll have more scores later in the day
Welcome to the state tournament.
The biggest surprise came in the first girls game when No. 10 seed Santa Fe Indian knocked off No. 2 Portales, 41-35. The Rams had been a fixture in the Class 3A title game.
In Class 5A No. 5 Las Cruces High edged No. 4 Cibola, 43-39.
In Class 2A No. 2 Texico thumped No. 7 Bosque School, 60-29, at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho.
I'll have more scores later in the day
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Boys state hoops off to wild start
Saturday was a bad day for District 5-5A.
Throughout the regular it seemed to be one of the stronger leagues in boys basketball. Highland, Los Lunas and Manzano combined for 60 wins. The Hornets, the No. 3 seed, looked like Albuquerque's best chance for a state title in the largest classification. The Tigers and Monarchs had the feel of sleepers.
None will be at The Pit next week.
Gallup's 65-63 win over Highland ranks easily as the most jaw-dropping upset of the opening round. The No. 14 seed isn't supposed to beat No. 3. The Hive had 24 wins. Ouch.
The most intense boys game of the first round might have been down in Las Cruces. No. 6 Mayfield needed three overtimes to send No. 11 Manzano home, 78-74. Watch out for the Trojans. They have chemistry, experience and one of the state's most respected coaches, Tommy Morrow.
Albuquerque High's 59-51 win over Los Lunas wasn't terribly surprising -- it was the 7-10 matchup. But it was a big step for the Bulldogs. Last season AHS broke a 55-game losing streak. Now they'll be back on The Pit floor since 1998.
Here are the rest of Saturday's scores ...
Class 5A
No. 1 Clovis 89,
No. 16 Onate 64
No. 8 Cibola 56,
No. 9 Sandia 42
No. 5 La Cueva 72,
No. 12 Gadsden 64
No. 4 Rio Rancho 75,
No. 13 Alamogordo 64
No. 2 Hobbs 81,
No. 15 Valley 53
For other scores, click here.
Throughout the regular it seemed to be one of the stronger leagues in boys basketball. Highland, Los Lunas and Manzano combined for 60 wins. The Hornets, the No. 3 seed, looked like Albuquerque's best chance for a state title in the largest classification. The Tigers and Monarchs had the feel of sleepers.
None will be at The Pit next week.
Gallup's 65-63 win over Highland ranks easily as the most jaw-dropping upset of the opening round. The No. 14 seed isn't supposed to beat No. 3. The Hive had 24 wins. Ouch.
The most intense boys game of the first round might have been down in Las Cruces. No. 6 Mayfield needed three overtimes to send No. 11 Manzano home, 78-74. Watch out for the Trojans. They have chemistry, experience and one of the state's most respected coaches, Tommy Morrow.
Albuquerque High's 59-51 win over Los Lunas wasn't terribly surprising -- it was the 7-10 matchup. But it was a big step for the Bulldogs. Last season AHS broke a 55-game losing streak. Now they'll be back on The Pit floor since 1998.
Here are the rest of Saturday's scores ...
Class 5A
No. 1 Clovis 89,
No. 16 Onate 64
No. 8 Cibola 56,
No. 9 Sandia 42
No. 5 La Cueva 72,
No. 12 Gadsden 64
No. 4 Rio Rancho 75,
No. 13 Alamogordo 64
No. 2 Hobbs 81,
No. 15 Valley 53
For other scores, click here.
Friday, March 7, 2008
It's here ... Girls state basketball tournament update
Tonight we got the floorburns, upsets and tears.
Next week, we'll add The Pit -- and crank up the drama.
The state tournament is officially here. Bask, my friends.
You can bet floorburns were plentiful. Can you smell 'em? I saw enough as No. 8 seed Sandia knocked out No. 9 Mayfield, 41-35. Quick tangent: Last year's Class 4A winner Aztec also lost in the first round. The champions of the three other classes all won convincingly, including Texico, which provided the nastiest score of the night in beating Estancia -- prepare to wince -- 59-12. Yuck.
As for the upsets ...
Class 3A (maybe the seeding was off here?)
No. 12 Lovington 69,
No. 5 Socorro 63
No. 11 Thoreau 60
No. 6 Tohatchi 56
No. 10 SFIS 59
No. 7 Sandia Prep 47
Class 4A
No. 12 Piedra Vista 45,
No. 5 Los Alamos 43
No. 10 Del Norte 45,
No. 7 Roswell 44
No. 10 Hobbs 52
No. 7 Valley 47
1) La Cueva 40,
16) Gallup 38
5) Las Cruces 57,
12) Los Lunas 32
4) Cibola 43,
13) Highland 35
3) Rio Rancho 39
14) Clovis 30
6) Alamogordo 58,
11) Rio Grande 44
2) Eldorado 63,
15) West Mesa 35
For all the scores, click here.
As I walked toward my seat at the Sandia gym I bumped into legendary Clovis football coach Eric Roanhaus.
It surprised me at first.
"I forgot you were an official," I said as we shook hands.
Quipped Roanhaus: "Yep. I'm part of the cheaters club."
Other than that I didn't notice him -- which is a good thing for officials. Can you imagine if he had blown his whistle for a questionable call that cost Mayfield the game? That wouldn't have sat well in Las Cruces.
Next week, we'll add The Pit -- and crank up the drama.
The state tournament is officially here. Bask, my friends.
You can bet floorburns were plentiful. Can you smell 'em? I saw enough as No. 8 seed Sandia knocked out No. 9 Mayfield, 41-35. Quick tangent: Last year's Class 4A winner Aztec also lost in the first round. The champions of the three other classes all won convincingly, including Texico, which provided the nastiest score of the night in beating Estancia -- prepare to wince -- 59-12. Yuck.
As for the upsets ...
Class 3A (maybe the seeding was off here?)
No. 12 Lovington 69,
No. 5 Socorro 63
No. 11 Thoreau 60
No. 6 Tohatchi 56
No. 10 SFIS 59
No. 7 Sandia Prep 47
Class 4A
No. 12 Piedra Vista 45,
No. 5 Los Alamos 43
No. 10 Del Norte 45,
No. 7 Roswell 44
- Congrats to the Knights, who, in their first playoff appearance since the 1970s, will get to stride down the famed ramp at The Pit.
No. 10 Hobbs 52
No. 7 Valley 47
- Hard to call this an upset. The teams are close in the seeds and this was played in Hobbs because NMAA rules always give district champions home games in the first round, even if they are seeded lower.
1) La Cueva 40,
16) Gallup 38
5) Las Cruces 57,
12) Los Lunas 32
4) Cibola 43,
13) Highland 35
3) Rio Rancho 39
14) Clovis 30
6) Alamogordo 58,
11) Rio Grande 44
2) Eldorado 63,
15) West Mesa 35
For all the scores, click here.
*****
As I walked toward my seat at the Sandia gym I bumped into legendary Clovis football coach Eric Roanhaus.
It surprised me at first.
"I forgot you were an official," I said as we shook hands.
Quipped Roanhaus: "Yep. I'm part of the cheaters club."
Other than that I didn't notice him -- which is a good thing for officials. Can you imagine if he had blown his whistle for a questionable call that cost Mayfield the game? That wouldn't have sat well in Las Cruces.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Nice win Lobos ... now do it again
With TV cameras rolling and reporters' pens scribbling, Steve Alford is generally subdued.
With 18,018 emotional Lobos fans hanging on the basketball coach's every word after Tuesday's win over UNLV, Alford changed.
He summoned his inner showman.
"We will not be in the NIT," Alford announced from The Pit floor during a postgame Senior Night ceremony.
The implication, of course, is that the Lobos will be going to the NCAA Tournament. And it doesn't take a mental long jump to infer that Alford thought the impressive 59-45 shutdown of the Rebels was the deciding factor.
It was, after all, UNM's 23rd win and 10th in Mountain West Conference play. It was the Lobos seventh win in eight games. It was their best win, in terms of opponent RPI (the Rebels were 26th coming in).
Moments later -- having returned to typical decaffeinated mode in front of the gathered media -- Alford said he thought a win at Colorado State would be the final hurdle between the Lobos and an at-large bid.
Sorry, that's not enough.
As I've written before, UNM will have to advance to the MWC Tournament championship game and they'll probably have to beat UNLV again to get there. Tuesday's win doesn't change that.
I say probably only because it's possible that the Rebels will get upset before playing the Lobos. However that is hard to imagine considering UNLV and UNM likely will meet in the semifinals -- it would take UNLV losing what is essentially a home game against one of the MWC's weakest teams in the opening round. Ain't happening.
Think about what it means if the Lobos play the Rebels and lose. That would give two of three meetings to UNLV. That would make UNM 1-4 against the league's best teams. It would mean the Lobos best wins came against a team that won the season series (UNLV) and another that won't get an at-large invitation (Texas Tech). And many of their 23 other wins would have come against a wet toilet paper-weak schedule.
Alford highlighted his team's total wins and conference wins. While impressive, this isn't the Big Ten, a major conference in which those numbers would stamp a ticket to the NCAAs. It's the Mountain West Conference, a mid-major.
This is not to say UNM can't beat UNLV in the MWC Tourney; Tuesday proved that.
But, as big as Tuesday's win was, the Big Dance isn't a sure thing. The Lobos still have a lot of work to do.
With 18,018 emotional Lobos fans hanging on the basketball coach's every word after Tuesday's win over UNLV, Alford changed.
He summoned his inner showman.
"We will not be in the NIT," Alford announced from The Pit floor during a postgame Senior Night ceremony.
The implication, of course, is that the Lobos will be going to the NCAA Tournament. And it doesn't take a mental long jump to infer that Alford thought the impressive 59-45 shutdown of the Rebels was the deciding factor.
It was, after all, UNM's 23rd win and 10th in Mountain West Conference play. It was the Lobos seventh win in eight games. It was their best win, in terms of opponent RPI (the Rebels were 26th coming in).
Moments later -- having returned to typical decaffeinated mode in front of the gathered media -- Alford said he thought a win at Colorado State would be the final hurdle between the Lobos and an at-large bid.
Sorry, that's not enough.
As I've written before, UNM will have to advance to the MWC Tournament championship game and they'll probably have to beat UNLV again to get there. Tuesday's win doesn't change that.
I say probably only because it's possible that the Rebels will get upset before playing the Lobos. However that is hard to imagine considering UNLV and UNM likely will meet in the semifinals -- it would take UNLV losing what is essentially a home game against one of the MWC's weakest teams in the opening round. Ain't happening.
Think about what it means if the Lobos play the Rebels and lose. That would give two of three meetings to UNLV. That would make UNM 1-4 against the league's best teams. It would mean the Lobos best wins came against a team that won the season series (UNLV) and another that won't get an at-large invitation (Texas Tech). And many of their 23 other wins would have come against a wet toilet paper-weak schedule.
Alford highlighted his team's total wins and conference wins. While impressive, this isn't the Big Ten, a major conference in which those numbers would stamp a ticket to the NCAAs. It's the Mountain West Conference, a mid-major.
This is not to say UNM can't beat UNLV in the MWC Tourney; Tuesday proved that.
But, as big as Tuesday's win was, the Big Dance isn't a sure thing. The Lobos still have a lot of work to do.
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