We tie a ribbon today around another state basketball tournament. The 2012 event was even more memorable than usual, so let’s get to it.

SALUTE: We begin by recognizing our 12 state champions. For the boys, it’s Eldorado (5A), Santa Teresa (4A), St. Michael’s (3A), Tularosa (2A), Logan (1A) and Wagon Mound (B). For the girls, it’s Volcano Vista (5A), Kirtland Central (4A), Lovington (3A), Texico (2A), Melrose (1A) and Elida (B).

Santa Teresa, Volcano Vista are Lovington are first-timers — as is Tularosa, which has been chasing this for a very long time. Well done.

Lovington came out of nowhere. This was a 12th-seeded team that was 9-17 when the playoffs began. Not only are they the first hoops program (boys or girls) to win a state title with a losing record, only one other girls team had ever bagged a blue trophy with double digits in losses. La Cueva (22-10 in 2009) is the other.

There is only one boys team on record — ironically enough, Lovington, in 1983 — that ever won state with as much as a .500 record (14-14).

CONTROVERSY AND REDEMPTION: Unfortunately, there was a rather large stain left behind on this year’s event.

St. Mike’s boys received an unexpected assist from a clock that should have been running at the end but wasn’t due to operator error. This shouldn’t necessarily detract from the Horsemen’s upset — toppling the Hope Christian dynasty is serious business and, to its credit, St. Mike’s wicked defense snuffed all the oxygen out of the Huskies’ offense in a 31-30 win — but the sad truth is, no one will ever recollect on this particular game without connecting it to that clock debacle.

As a sidebar, Hope Christian absorbed this unexpected disaster with extraordinary grace and humility. They could easily have complained long and loud, but did not. They didn’t like what happened, but neither did they make a stink about it. They commended St. Michael’s time and again. It was a fantastic display of sportsmanship under adversity.

Alas, sportsmanship is not contagious. Take, for example, the obnoxious Volcano Vista fan who, rather than celebrate the Hawks’ impending victory, chose instead to taunt Eldorado’s bench at the end of the game. “Second place again!” he repeated. Classless.

(Also, who exactly was that guy who tried so hard to get the attention of Albuquerque High boys coach Ron Garcia by shouting at him in the middle of a game against Valley? That was almost as bizarre as seeing the Texico boys wearing orange mesh over white jerseys, because they forgot their lower-seeded green jerseys.)

GREAT QUOTES: “This one is especially sweet, because all year long, everyone said they are the best team in New Mexico regardless of class. And to beat the best team in New Mexico feels awfully good.” — St. Mike’s coach Ron Geyer.

“They’re so loose, so confident, so … swag.” — Eldorado coach Roy Sanchez on his colorful team.

PREDICTION RECAP: Seventeen of the 24 teams I picked to reach championship games were there. I got both finalists in six of the 12 games, including 5A boys.

I only correctly predicted four out of 12 champions (5A boys, 2A girls and both Class Bs). In my defense, three other choices — SFIS girls, Hope boys, Roswell girls — lost by a single point in the finals, and a fourth finalist, Tatum’s girls, were beaten in overtime.

There were only three 1-2 finals — Class 3A boys (No. 1 Hope vs. No. 2 St. Mike’s), Class B boys (No. 1 Hondo vs. No. 2 Wagon Mound) and Class 1A girls (No. 1 Melrose vs. No. 2 Tatum). Not a single No. 1 boys seed won state, which was highly surprising.

AND FINALLY: To me, the best feel-good story had nothing to do with a team, or a town, or long-suffering fans. It was Eldorado point guard Cameron Glasrud.

Glasrud was seriously injured in a car crash last November. He was T-boned by a suspected drunk driver — a classmate at Eldorado, football player Aaron Herrera.

Glasrud suffered a lacerated spleen that night. He didn’t join Eldorado’s lineup until January, and the Eagles could not have won state without him.

Glasrud might very well have been killed in that crash. Watching the kid bury four clutch free throws in the final minute of Eldorado’s win Saturday over La Cueva was immensely gratifying.
— This article appeared on page B6 of the Albuquerque Journal