PREP BASKETBALL
1A boys: Jordan Holland's 31-point effort leads Fort Sumner/House to crown
The Foxes have now won three of the last four Class A state titles
Published
Anyone with access to a schedule knew Saturday’s Class A boys state championship between Logan and Fort Sumner/House was destined to go down to the wire.
Consider: Of the four regular-season games between the top-seeded Longhorns and No. 2 Foxes, none were decided by more than five points. On top of that, the last two meetings between the two Class A powers went all the way to overtime, with the first ending 84-79 in favor of Fort Sumner/House and the second going 80-77 to Logan.
To the surprise of no one — coaches and players least of all — Saturday’s title game lived up to expectations.
The Foxes overcame a slow start to knock off district rival Logan 66-63, clinching Fort Sumner/House’s third state championship in four years.
In a game with 13 lead changes — seven in the fourth quarter — Fort Sumner/House got a sterling effort from Jordan Holland, who scored a game-high 31 points on 10-of-19 shooting. The junior guard also made 4 of 9 3-pointers and scored nine points in the fourth quarter, making a jumper with 2:08 remaining to give the Foxes the lead for good.
“It’s just something you dream of,” he said. “I’ve worked my whole life for it and … (we) got it done.”
Tra’von Bonds added 21 points with three made 3-pointers, hitting his first to give Fort Sumner/House a 23-17 halftime lead.
The Foxes (26-5) trailed 10-4 at the end of a first quarter that saw them shoot a dismal 2-of-16 from the field. Holland scored his first 14 points in the second to bring them back before authoring a 17-point second half.
“When (Holland) gets his midrange going, we’re a better basketball team,” Fort Sumner/House head coach Brad Holland said. “And he kinda got the midrange going (at the) end of (the second quarter), start of the third. Once his midrange gets going and you’re gonna give Tra’von Bonds open looks … I’ve said it all year, we get them both going at the same time, we’re tough to stop.”
However, Logan answered in the third quarter. The Longhorns (27-5) leaned on 6-foot-7 Mason Bruhn (17 points, 11 rebounds) and 6-foot-5 Mason Wallin (16 points, 11 rebounds) to score 14 points in the paint and take a 43-38 lead into the fourth.
Fort Sumner/House proceeded to post perhaps its best offensive quarter of the season, shooting a blistering 10-of-13 (76.9%). The Foxes also made 6 of 6 free throws to stave off the Longhorns’ comeback bid before Rylan Montoya (eight points) hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to make the score closer.
“Sometimes good offense beats good defense,” Logan head coach Kyle Griffiths said. “That’s the name of the game. Credit to them for playing a great offensive game.”
The Foxes’ win denied Logan, the reigning Class A champ, from notching back-to-back state titles.
“A lot of people counted us out from the start of this thing,” head coach Brad Holland said. “I listened to (it) the whole tournament, every game, man. Logan was already given the blue trophy and there was no one (that was) going to be able to play with that talent.
“There was one group of kids that knew it all along, and they believed it all along. They showed tonight they were the better basketball team.”
Sean Reider covers college football and other sports for the Journal. You can reach him at sreider@abqjournal.com or via X at @lenaweereider.
