NM State Basketball Tournament

Gallup teams, SFIS girls among teams to advance to quarterfinals

By Sunnie R. Clahchischiligi and Quentin Jodie
Navajo Times

FRUITLAND

Survive and advance.

The two concepts were the focus of many area basketball teams over the weekend during the first round of the New Mexico high school state basketball tournament.

Just over half of the schools were able to ride out the first round and advance to the quarterfinals, which begins Tuesday for the girls teams and Wednesday for the boys.

Here’s a look at the survivors.

In Class 5A, the No. 7 seeded Gallup Bengals outlasted the No. 15 Eagles of Belen, defeating them 46-33 on Saturday in Gallup.

Gallup had a strong start with a 15-2 lead over Belen after the first quarter. They maintained their lead throughout the rest of the three quarters by capitalizing on missed field goal opportunities made by the Eagles.

Gallup head coach Richard Rangel Jr., said his team carried out their game plan to attack at the start and it clinched them the win.

“They knew exactly what they were going to do and they executed well,” he said.

Gallup will meet No. 2 Grants in the quarterfinals on Wednesday at 3 p.m., at the University of New Mexico’s WisePise Arena, formerly known as The Pit.

The Pirates defeated No. 15 seed Moriarty 71-58.

Grants and Gallup met twice this season. In the first meeting Grants defeated Gallup 52-58 and in the second the Bengals won 78-72 in overtime.

Grants head coach Joseph Sanchez said they met Moriarty for a third time in the first round and now they’ll met Gallup in their third meeting.

“It’s tough to beat an opponent three times but I’m proud of my boys. They stepped it up and took care of business,” Sanchez said. “This is going to be an awesome atmosphere (with Gallup on Wednesday).”

In Class 4A boys, the No. 6 seeded Bloomfield Bobcats were the only area team to advance to the quarterfinals. The Bobcats defeated No. 11 Santa Fe Indian 75-54 in Bloomfield on Saturday.

Bloomfield will meet No. 3 West Las Vegas at the Santa Ana Star Center on Wednesday at 8:15 p.m.

Both Laguna Acoma and Navajo Prep survived the first round over the weekend.

The Hawks were seeded No. 6 and defeated No. 11 Tularosa 72-52. They run into No. 3 Pecos on Wednesday at Rio Rancho High School at 5 p.m.

Navajo Prep boys made history over the weekend after earning their first state playoff game in school history. The No. 10 Eagles defeated No. 7 Estancia 45-42 in overtime at Estancia.

Navajo Prep head coach Rick Hoerner said it was a well deserved win for his team but now the focus is on No. 2 Texico, who they meet in the quarterfinals on Wednesday at Rio Rancho High School at 7:30 p.m.

“I don’t want them to just be happy they got a win and be satisfied with it. They have to play hard and hope for good things to happen,” he said. “I’m just real proud of our kids, they just showed a lot of heart.”

From the southern part of the state, No. 3 Magdalena defeated No. 14 McCurdy 72-53 and will advance to the meet No. 6 Mesa Vista on Wednesday at 3 p.m., at the Santa Ana Star Center.

Girls

In 5A girls’ competition, the No. 1 Gallup Lady Bengals defeated No. 16 St. Pius X 64-37 and will meet No. 9 Piedra Vista Tuesday at The Pit at 8:15 p.m.

Piedra Vista defeated No. 8 Aztec 51-46 to advance to the quarterfinals.

Area teams in Class 4A had the most success in the first round.

No. 2 Shiprock cruised past No. 15 Socorro and defeated them 70-34. The Lady Chiefs will meet No. 7 Taos Tuesday at 11:30 a.m., at The Pit.

The Lady Broncos of Kirtland Central, who are seeded No. 4, defeated No. 13 Pojoaque Valley 60-34. They will meet No. 5 Hope Christian at The Pit Tuesday at 8 a.m.

No. 8 Bloomfield and No. 6 Santa Fe Indian School also got nods to advance to the quarterfinals.

Bloomfield defeated No. 9 Robertson 76-53 and will meet No. 1 Portales Tuesday at The Pit at 3 p.m. The Lady Braves defeated No. 11 Ruidoso 47-41 and will meet No. 3 West Las VegasTuesday at The Pit at 6:30 p.m.

In Class 3A the No. 4 Tohatchi Lady Cougars return to the quarterfinals where they fell short last season. They will meet No. 5 Laguna Acoma on Tuesday at the Santa Ana Star Center at 6:30 p.m.

Tohatchi head coach Tanisha Bitsoi said the two teams met at the start of the season and the Lady Cougars defeated the Lady Hawks by 10 points.

She said now that it’s the state tournament stage, that won’t matter.

“There’s going to be a lot of improvement on both sides,” she said. “Going into that game, again, we tell them (her team) we stick to our game plan, we do what we’re supposed to do and we will be OK.”

No. 6 Cuba defeated No. 11 Navajo Prep 56-46 and ended the Lady Eagles’ season in the first round. The Rams will now meet No. 3 Eunice on Tuesday at 8 a.m. at the Santa Ana Star Center.

In Class 2A, the No. 2 seeded Ramah Lady Mustangs defeated No. 15 Jal with a high score of 98-34. The Lady Mustangs meet No. 7 Melrose on Tuesday at Bernalillo High School at 4:45 p.m.

No. 4 Magdalena defeated No. 13 Tse Yi Gai 47-38 in the first round and will meet No. 5 Mora on Tuesday also at Bernalillo High School at 8:15 p.m. And No. 8 Mescalero Apache defeated No. 9 Jemez Valley 63-57, they will meet No. 1 Logan Tuesday at Bernalillo High School at 6:30 p.m.

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