Blowing it out: Highland, Artesia, Hope Christian and Taos win big

If Wednesday’s performances were any indication, Highland and Artesia could be on a collision course for a Class 4A championship rematch.

The top-seeded Hornets rolled past ninth-seeded Portales 95-69 in a quarterfinal matchup at the Pit. They’ll move on to play fifth-seeded Taos, which defeated No. 4 Del Norte 62-49, on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

In the other half of the bracket, defending state champion No. 2 Artesia advanced to the semifinals with a dominant 80-19 triumph over No. 7 Gallup. Meanwhile, No. 3 Hope Christian improved to 4-0 against sixth-seeded Albuquerque Academy this season with a 70-47 victory. Artesia and Hope Christian will meet on Thursday at the Pit at 3 p.m.

No. 2 ARTESIA 80, No. 7 GALLUP 19: Braylon Vega scored 40 points and hit nine of 11 from 3-point range as the Bulldogs (24-5) rolled past the Bengals (22-8).

The outcome was never in doubt. Artesia jumped out to a 22-2 first-quarter lead and kept the pressure on from there, increasing its lead to 40 by halftime to ensure that a running clock was in place for the second half. Gallup shot just 20 percent from the field and had 23 turnovers. Artesia held significant advantages in points off turnovers (30-2), points in the paint (32-10), rebounds (37-17) and fastbreak points (26-0).

Complacency wasn’t going to be an issue for the defending state champions, a veteran squad with 10 seniors on the roster.

“Our motto this year is tenacious mindset, so we don't worry about anything else but being tenacious, being relentless, playing 32 minutes,” said Artesia coach Michael Mondragon.

Meanwhile, Vega had a theory to explain his hot shooting night.

“They (the coaches) took our phones last night, so that really got me locked in,” he said. “I had to really think about the game tonight, so I was just thinking about making shots. And that's what kind of happened.”

Artesia point guard Charlie Campbell supplemented Vega’s outburst with 12 points, six assists and seven steals.

No. 1 HIGHLAND 95, No. 9 PORTALES 69: The Hornets (25-4) simply had too much depth and firepower for the Rams (15-14).

Nico Sanchez (27 points), Juan Limas (22) and Jerry Moody (20) propelled Highland to a season high in scoring, and the Hornets led by double digits for the vast majority of the second half. Highland held a whopping 56-35 edge on the boards, and outscored Portales by 23 in second-chance points.

“It was huge — 35 (second-chance) points, 28 offensive rebounds. That's a season high for us,” said Highland coach Justin Woody. “We noticed in film that sometimes they're out of position in all the zones they play to rebound. So we really wanted to take advantage of that and send all five guys to the glass.”

The Hornets’ strength on the glass resulted in plenty of transition opportunities, as they finished with 27 fastbreak points.

Pierce Culpepper, a 6-foot-7 junior forward, finished with 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists for Portales.

No. 3 HOPE CHRISTIAN 70, No. 6 ALBUQUERQUE ACADEMY 47: After winning their three previous meetings by a combined eight points, the Huskies (23-8) were able to get some separation from the Chargers (18-12) when it mattered most.

Hope broke open the game with a 15-4 run at the outset of the third quarter and never looked back, leading by as many as 31 in a comfortable triumph over its District 6-4A rivals.

“I was bemoaning that we've been playing the same team, but I guess you know who you're playing,” Huskies coach Jim Murphy said. “I think we had a good feel for what they like to do and what we can do against them.

“Maybe that helped us this game. We made some adjustments and hopefully it paid off. It's about hitting shots. Our boys stepped up and hit some shots. They (Academy) missed their shots in the second half.”

Five different players — Landon Cochran (16), Isaac Aaron (14), Kyle Eades (14), Brayden Giron (13) and Jayce Miera (12) — reached double figures for Hope. Perhaps the most memorable bucket late in the first quarter, when Giron scored his sixth point of the game to set Hope’s all-time scoring record. Giron, who surpassed Arren Wells for the No. 1 spot, currently sits at 1,624 career points.

No. 5 TAOS 62, No. 4 DEL NORTE 49: The inside-outside duo of Malakhai Ely and Mario Rodriguez combined for 10 points during a 13-0 second-quarter flurry to help propel the Tigers (25-5) past the Knights (19-11).

That run gave Taos a 30-16 lead, and it was able to keep Del Norte at arm’s length the rest of the way. It didn’t hurt the Tigers’ cause that Knights standout Francois Satchivi was limited after picking up three fouls in the first quarter and four fouls in the first half.

Though Satchivi managed to stay in the game to score a team-high 19 points for Del Norte, it wasn’t nearly enough.

Ely had 23 points — on 10-for-11 shooting — with nine rebounds for Taos, while Rodriguez added 16 points and had three of the Tigers’ eight 3-pointers.

“Once we started getting the ball inside, everything changed for us,” said Taos coach Hernando Chavez. “Early on in the first quarter, we weren't getting many post touches. Once we were able to get the ball inside, not only was (Malakhai) able to start getting some of his, but it also opened up some of our shooters.”