4A boys: Highland, an 8 seed, advances to title game against Artesia

After advancing all the way through the Class 4A bracket as the top seed a year ago, Highland is a somewhat surprising repeat visitor to the championship game.

Just don’t tell the eighth-seeded Hornets they’re the underdogs.

“I’ve I felt like we’re the best team in the state the whole year,” said Highland senior guard Owen Cheng, who scored 11 straight points during a pivotal third quarter run that blew open what had been a close semifinal game against No. 4 Albuquerque Academy on Thursday at the Pit.

“I don’t care what our seed says. I know we’ve been the best team in the state. I don’t care what our record says,” he said.

The Hornets will get a chance to prove that on Saturday when they play No. 2 Artesia at the Pit at 4 p.m. The Bulldogs cruised past No. 3 Española Valley in the other semifinal and will be attempting to win their first blue trophy in boy’s basketball since 1995.

No. 8 HIGHLAND 66, No. 4 ABQ ACADEMY 37: The Chargers (21-9) were intent on ensuring that anyone but Jesus Licon beat them, and the Hornets (18-14) were more than happy to spread the wealth.

Three different players scored in double figures — none named Licon — and Highland used a 20-5 run at the start of the third quarter to turn a four-point halftime advantage into a 19-point lead. From there, the Chargers would get no closer than 12 as the Hornets rolled behind a balanced attack.

One day after Licon scored 35 points in a semifinal win over St. Pius, the standout guard was limited to just eight points as Academy utilized a double team virtually any time he touched the ball. It didn’t matter, thanks to 16 points from Cheng, 14 from Jerry Moody and 13 from Juan Limas. All told, nine different Hornets scored — a far cry from the day before when Licon and Limas accounted for all but four of their team’s points.

“We’ve seen every possible defense that you could have,” said Highland coach Justin Woody. “… These guys did a great job of getting open and then finishing when they’re open.”

The Hornets defense also played a significant part in the victory, limiting Academy to 28 percent shooting and keeping star Eli Dominguez (15 points) in single digits until the fourth quarter. Moody, a sophomore forward, was integral in limiting the production of 6-foot-10 Chargers post Hunter Aime, who finished with eight points. In addition to his scoring, Moody contributed four blocks.

“I was really in their head because they were looking for him, but I had him on lockdown,” Moody said. “The confidence in my team really helps me out down low.”

It didn’t hurt that Moody received a dose of encouragement from his teammates following a quiet outing on Wednesday.

“(He came) into practice this morning with his head down,” said senior guard DJ Spruell, who had a game-high eight assists. “We got on him all day, and he came down and dominated this team.”

No. 2 ARTESIA 72, No. 3 ESPAÑOLA VALLEY 51: The Bulldogs (19-9) shot 68 percent from the field and gradually pulled away from the Sundevils (24-7) during a dominant second half.

Artesia (19-9) led by just four points at halftime but upped the margin to 12 after three and led by as many as 24 in a drama-free fourth quarter. The larger Bulldogs were especially efficient on offense, shooting 17-of-19 from the floor during the second half.

“We’re getting big boys on the block where the shot selection was really important” said Artesia coach Michael Mondragon. “Getting the ball in the paint, and those are all high percentage shots. You shoot like that, it’s gonna be hard to beat.”

Charlie Campbell led four Bulldogs in double figures with 21 points while adding eight assists. Artesia outrebounded Española 40-21 and held a 40-24 edge in points in the paint. The Bulldogs were just as solid on defense, as they limited Española to 31% shooting. The Sundevils’ primary scorers — Jerek Duda and Josiah Fresquez — combined to shoot just 8-of-34 from the floor.

“These guys executed great — made sure we rotated to those guys. Made sure we made it really, really hard,” Mondragon said.