4A-1A boys: Highland and Academy advance; big night for 12 seeds

It was the 12 seeds that stole headlines on the opening day of the boys state high school basketball tournaments.

Farmington, a 12 in Class 5A, was an upset winner Saturday. So were Taos in 4A and Mora in 2A as the first round played out.

CLASS 4A: Seven of the top eight seeds advanced. Defending state champion Highland, seeded eighth, beat visiting Del Norte 53-32 in the first round. Juan Limas scored 14 points and Jerry Moody had 12, including two rousing fourth-quarter dunks, but it was floor leadership of senior DJ Spruell that helped push the Hornets (16-14) past the Knights (16-13).

Spruell is coming back from a fractured bone in his foot that he suffered in January so his play on the court is still getting back into shape, but he was able to keep the younger Hornets focused, coach Justin Woody said.

“He has just been getting in better shape and getting back in the swing of things,” Woody said. “And he does a good job kind of calming us down, leading us.”

Highland was up early 16-7. The Knights did pull within 27-22 after scoring the first basket of the third quarter, but Highland pulled away from there.

“I have to tell my team, you’ve got to know situations and keep the ball, make them foul us,” Spruell said of a fourth-quarter discussion he had with teammates during a timeout. “So we’re trying to build our team back together and build our chemistry back right.”

It helps that Highland has a big man like the 6-foot, 8-inch sophomore Moody, who powered down a thunder jam to start the fourth quarter, making it 39-28.

“He’s been our most improved player,” Woody said of Moody. “He started a little slow and then finished really well around the basket after his first couple misses. I was proud of him, proud of the other guys for finding him.”

The Highland defense was tough on the Knights, not allowing anybody to score in double figures.

Jesus Licon scored eight points for Highland.

– Glen Rosales

St. Pius (22-5) moved into the quarters following a 50-34 victory over Goddard. Senior Mason Montoya, his district’s player of the year, had a team-best 18 points for the Sartans. Kenneth Zamora added 10 points.

In Artesia, the second-seeded Bulldogs (18-9) hammered Gallup 91-57. Clay Kincaid, a 6-8 junior forward, led Artesia with 21 points. The Bulldogs meet Valley next; the Vikings won a close decision against Artesia in late December.

Third-seeded Española Valley (23-6) had all it could handle with Belen, but held on, 54-50.

At the Academy, the Chargers (20-8) eliminated Grants 72-57, as the Chargers face Taos next in the quarters. Senior forward Eli Dominguez led Academy with 23 points and was one of four Chargers in double figures.

In Pojoaque, the fifth-seeded Elks (19-9) won three of the four quarters, but it was a 16-8 deficit to their district rivals from Taos (17-11) in the second quarter that was pivotal in the Tigers’ 61-57 victory.

At Valley, the Vikings (15-14) were pushed by Lovington, but Valley eventually closed out the Wildcats 52-48. Angelito Villa had 15 points, Luciano Mondragon 13 for Valley.

Hope Christian’s postseason lasted just a single game as the 11th-seeded Huskies (14-15) fell 82-72 at No. 6 Silver (21-6).

CLASS 3A: All of the top eight seeds won on Saturday, several of them in close decisions. That included No. 5 Bosque School (21-7), which trailed New Mexico Military Institute at home by 18 points in the second quarter before storming back for a 48-45 victory.

Sophomore point guard Josiah Wilson had 26 points and six assists for Bosque, which faces Tularosa in Wednesday’s quarterfinals. Oliver Tumolo added eight points, four rebounds and five steals. The Bobcats didn’t overtake NMMI until the fourth quarter and the Colts only shot four free throws compared to 19 for Bosque.

The top four seeds — St. Michael’s, Robertson, Tohatchi and Tularosa — all won by double digits. Tularosa took out East Mountain 50-40. The metro area’s other 3A qualifier, Sandia Prep, lost 59-51 at No. 7 West Las Vegas.

CLASS 2A: Legacy Academy’s first state tournament game as a 2A program was a success, as the Silverbacks (24-5), seeded sixth, defeated No. 11 Eunice 50-36.

Bryant Scales, a junior forward for Legacy and his district’s player of the year, led the way with 17 points. Daniel Tavares added 10 points and six rebounds.

The Cardinals (19-10) trailed by double digits most of the first half, but they rallied and cut the deficit to one in the fourth quarter before the Silverbacks pulled away, including 15 out of 20 from the free-throw line.

Menaul, the 14 seed, nearly became the lowest-seeded team, boys or girls, to reach Week 2. The Panthers (14-16) were beaten 46-44 by Mesa Vista. Oak Grove Classical Academy was seeded 13th, and the Owls lost 71-58 at Pecos.

As for Mora, the Rangers slipped past No. 5 Mesilla Valley 48-47.

CLASS 1A: All of the top eight seeds were victorious, and each of the eight, led by No. 1 Logan, won by double digits.

Photos: Albuquerque Academy beats Grants