4A final could be a classic

“Intense,” Stafford said, chiming in.

Joe Sanchez’s response was certainly the best of the three.

“Tenacious,” he said.

St. Pius and Academy have history. Wonderful history. Decades of colorful, high-quality history.

And today, the Sartans and Chargers will share Bob King Court at the Pit.

For the third time in their history, Albuquerque’s two most recognized private schools will compete for a state championship.

The 25-4 Sartans and 18-10 Chargers tip off at 2 p.m.

They also met in the finals in 1984 (that went to Academy) and 2008 (which belonged to St. Pius).

“It’s going to be a pretty good atmosphere,” Joe Sanchez said. “Should be pretty fun.”

St. Pius, after going 2-0 against Academy in the regular season, is certainly the favorite today.

But in rivalry games, trends and previous results tend to matter less than normal.

“We know each other so well,” St. Pius coach Damian Segura said.

Segura also took time to pay tribute to his counterpart, Academy coach Roy Morgan, for the job he did in getting the Chargers this far.

“What a fantastic job he’s done,” Segura said.

St. Pius will have to contend with Academy’s size today, represented by 6-foot-4 Chris Martin and 6-3 Tommy Lindgren.

“Chris will have to produce for us and be able to score,” Morgan said.

“Their size is tough, especially at the offensive end (for us),” Segura said. “They’ll challenge shots.”

St. Pius’ Nic Stafford, who is 6-3, is the Sartans’ tallest player.

“They crash the boards hard,” Stafford said of the Chargers. “And because of their length, they’re really good at it.”

The Sartans advanced to the finals with a 66-60 victory Thursday over Los Lunas.

The Sanchezes and Brandon Altamirano all had 12 points for St. Pius in its victory.

Although the Sartans wasted a nine-point halftime lead and gave up the lead to the Tigers in the third quarter, St. Pius went on a 10-0 run to regain control, sparked by Micah Sanchez, who hit several 3-pointers in the game.

St. Pius girls

The Sartans’ season ended Thursday with a 50-35 loss to No. 1 seed Los Lunas at the Pit.

Tigers junior post Teige Zeller had 17 points and 26 rebounds in the victory.

“She just dominated us,” St. Pius coach Phil Griego said.

The Sartans (20-9) shot just 19 percent for the game.

“I thought it was a great year for us, actually,” Griego said. “There were a lot of questions about what we had coming back and if we’d be in a position to compete. But I felt all along that we would be really good. It was just a matter of getting the kids to believe it.”

St. Pius loses four seniors, but will return its best player, sophomore guard Natalie Zamora, who was the Sartans’ leading scorer and the District 5-4A Player of the Year.

Volcano Vista girls

The Hawks were about five seconds away from playing in their second straight Class 5A state championship game.

No. 6 seed Volcano Vista led No. 2 Mayfield 54-53 when the Trojans’ Scottie Bayles drained a 3-pointer, and that was the difference in this semifinal game at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho.

Senior post Ebony Hodge had 14 points to lead the Hawks, who lose Hodge and guard Nikki Begay among the mainstays but return a bulk of their key contributors for next season.
— This article appeared on page 16 of the Albuquerque Journal