Fans and family show school spirit for NM state high school hoops tourney

It was a “Final Four” Thursday for New Mexico boys and girls basketball players participating in the 2024 Nusenda Credit Union State Basketball Championships.

Some teams, like Class 4A girls No. 1 Kirtland Central High School, will move on to the championship round. Others, like fourth-ranked Gallup, which fell 61-47 to Kirtland Central at the Pit, have gone home.

Kirtland Central, which is going for a New Mexico-record 21st state basketball title, got revenge on the Bengals, who beat the Broncos in last year’s state final.

Thousands attended the game inside the University of New Mexico’s iconic arena, which is hosting dozens of games this week, including all the championship games from the state’s 10 classes (five girls’ and five boys’) on Friday and Saturday.

The fifth game this year between the Broncos and Bengals, who are district rivals, was intense until near the end, said basketball fan Cheyenne Custer, who used to live in Gallup.

Basketball is important in New Mexico, but Custer said it is “the biggest thing” in Gallup.

As Custer left for the parking lot, Marvin Duncan and his wife Shaundine Duncan made their way into the Pit to cheer on their daughter, Volcano Vista senior Lilliana Duncan.

Marvin Duncan said he knew the matchup against top-seeded Hobbs would be tough, especially after Hobbs beat No. 4 Volcano Vista 78-50 in Hobbs in December.

“I think the girls’ focus is to correct that,” he said, and they did. The Hawks upset the Eagles, 49-42, and advanced to their fifth consecutive 6A girls state title game.

Regardless of the outcomes, the tournament is a fun time for friends, family and school alumni to come together to support their loved ones and communities.

Eric Snyder drove two hours from Crownpoint to cheer on his third-seeded Navajo Prep Fighting Eagles, which defeated No. 7 St. Michael’s 61-32 to advance to the 3A girls final.

It was great to show off the school spirit, he said.

Not everyone who took in the action attended any of the participating schools or had a vested interest in any of their teams.

Larry Vigil has been going to high school hoops tourneys for about 40 years because he said he loves the game.

“When I was young I just enjoyed basketball and as I have gotten older and (with) no more kids around or grandkids that play sports, I just love (seeing) the heart that the kids put into the games,” he said.

Vigil said he was not surprised by what he has seen this week, except for Thursday morning’s game between Class 5A’s No. 2 Sandia High School and third-seeded Farmington girls. Sandia was down 12 points in the third quarter but came back to beat Farmington, 61-58, to make it to the finale where it will play Volcano Vista.

“I had already given up on the game,” Vigil said about the double-digit deficit. “I was playing on my phone when I saw that at the end of the third (quarter) it was only a 2-point difference.

“That just goes to show you that the game is not over until it’s over.”