Peerman's Power Rankings: 10 best things in New Mexico sports this week (March 17)

Welcome to Peerman's Power Rankings (PPR), the 10 athletes, teams and story lines that have Journal sports editor Lucas Peerman's attention. Look for a new power rankings list every Sunday.

Have a suggestion, complaint or compliment? Email lpeerman@abqjournal.com or contact me on X @LucasPeerman.

10. New Mexico flag

Fans of teams based in Nevada, California, Idaho, Colorado and New Mexico gathered inside the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev., for a week of Mountain West basketball, much of it televised on CBS and its affiliate sports network. Those watching on TV saw a lot of amazing basketball. You know what else they saw? A lot of New Mexico state flags. You know what they didn’t see? Nevada, California, Idaho or Colorado state flags. Great job, New Mexico. Proudly wave that flag — the best state flag in the United States.

9. Bobby Romero

The pinnacle of coaching high school basketball in New Mexico is winning a state title in the Pit. A coach’s 100th career victory coming in a championship game on Bob King Court? That’s special. And that’s exactly what happened Saturday for the coach of Academy for Technology and the Classics, the 2A boys champion. Way to rise to the occasion, Coach Bobby and the Phoenix (bands trying to decide on a name, feel free to steal this).

8. Navajo Prep basketball

One blue trophy looks great in a display case. The only thing prettier is two blue trophies. Congrats to the Eagles for soaring as high as any school at the state basketball tournament, winning both the boys and girls 3A titles. What makes these championships even more special is both the third-seeded girls team and second-seeded boys teams upset the No. 1-ranked teams in their brackets in the title games.

7. Foxes and Vixens

Fort Sumner/House must also clear space in the display case for two trophies. The second-seeded Foxes (boys) and fourth-seeded Vixens (girls) at the state basketball tournament proved Fort Sumner is the House of 1A champs. While Navajo Prep’s teams were underdogs, it wasn’t a huge surprise that the Eagles came home with titles. In 1A, Magdalena (boys) and Roy/Mosquero (girls) were expected to walk over every other team. In fact, the Steers and Lady Blue had defeated the Foxes and Vixens, respectively, by double-digits in the regular season and both had only one loss (to 4A squads, no less) entering the tournament. But the Forts held strong and when all was said it done, the Orange and Black went home with the Blue.

6. Peñasco girls basketball

Speaking of underdogs, the Panthers were the lowest-seeded team (No. 6) to win a state basketball title this year, doing so in the 2A girls bracket. Peñasco, which started 8-8 before finding a rhythm, still ended the regular season having lost every game it played against Mesa Vista and Pecos, which were seeded Nos. 1 and 3 in the state tournament, respectively. The Panthers’ quarterfinal opponent? Pecos. Peñasco beat them by 18. Then, the Panthers slipped by No. 2 Tatum in the semifinals to set up a meeting with No. 4 Tularosa, which upset Mesa Vista in the other semifinal. Peñasco beat the Wildcats by a three-pointer to earn its first-ever state tile in girls basketball.

5. Highland boys basketball

“These guys love to get my blood pressure going. Give me more gray hair,” Hornets coach Justin Woody said after Highland beat Valley in overtime to capture the boys 4A crown. It was the Hornets’ fifth overtime game of the season — and they won all of them. Junior guard Jesus Licon, averaging more than 28 points a game, hit big shot after big shot this season to power Highland to the top seed entering the state tournament. He didn’t disappoint in the title game, hitting a clutch three-pointer to force the extra period. He led all scorers with 23 points in what was the Pit’s most exciting game of the tournament.

4. Kirtland Central girls basketball

The Broncos won their 21st state title, a record for any girls basketball program in the state. This year’s team was especially dominant, winning every game in the state tournament by double digits. And don’t expect Kirtland Central to fade into the shadows anytime over the next half-decade. The team’s leading scorer in all three games? Allyson Tsosie, an eighth-grader.

3. Volcano Vista boys basketball

88-2. That’s the Hawks’ record in their last three seasons, each ending with a 5A title. Volcano Vista made history this year by becoming the first big-school boys program from Albuquerque to three-peat. Coach Greg Brown is building a dynasty, and with the dynamic duo of junior Kenyon Aguino and freshman David Lunn returning next year, here’s two words for all other 5A squads in the state: Good luck.

2. Sydney Benally

The most incredible performance from any player in any of the 150 games of the state tournament came from Sandia’s tremendous junior guard in the girls 5A title game. Benally showed why she was recently named named Gatorade New Mexico Player of the Year with a brilliant 35-point game, including 18 points in the fourth-quarter to lead the Matadors to a come-from-behind victory over Volcano Vista.

1. UNM men’s basketball

What a run in the Mountain West Conference Tournament. The sixth-seeded Lobos did what no other MW team had done in the 25-year history of the conference: win four games in four nights. With the win, UNM secured an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, but it’s not like the team had to win four straight to get in … wait, what? The Lobos wouldn’t have been in otherwise? Maybe Joe Lunardi does know what he’s doing. Regardless, this is a special Lobo team and one that got the program back into the tournament for the first time in a decade. Clemson should take heed of what Jaelen House had to say after the Lobos won the MW crown: “We got a full train of steam coming. Watch out.”

Honorable mention (House edition)

Jaelen House: Following UNM’s win over San Diego State to clinch the Mountain West title, there was little doubt who would be named tournament MVP. The senior guard not only averaged 23 points over four games, his infectious energy and confidence resonated across the team ensuring there would be no let-down this year.

Eddie House: Jaelen father, a former NBA player, was in Thomas & Mack to see his son orchestrate UNM victories. After Jaelen hit a basket while being fouled to help the Lobos extend their lead against San Diego State late in the championship game, the CBS camera cut to Eddie in the stands, who excitedly let all those around him know whose son just scored the big basket. LeBron James, who played with Eddie on the 2010-2011 Miami Heat team, and who also has a son playing college ball, reposted this clip to his 52.8 million followers on X, stating “I love that!!! So (seven fire emojis).”

The man in the hat: Jaelen scored 29 points to help lead UNM over third-seeded Boise State in the quarterfinals of Mountain West Tournament. Asked after the game about his interactions with the crowd, Jaelen responded to a TV reporter, “that guy in that hat over there got me going.” Lobo Nation thanks you, hat-wearing man, for the inspirational words.

End of the bench

The Mountain West media and coaches have separate postseason awards and sometimes differ, including this year. For example, the media picked national player of the year candidate Jaedon LeDee, from San Diego State, as the conference’s top player. The coaches went with Utah State’s Great Osobor, a somewhat surprising pick considering he may not have been his own coach’s pick for the award (a few days before the award was announced, Aggies coach Danny Sprinkle told reporters, “If Darius Brown is not (Mountain West) player of the year, I will never vote ever again. Seriously, don’t ask me to vote again”). How close was the coaches’ vote for player of the year? Who knows; the coaches keep silent. The media, on the other hand, releases its final tally (LeDee got 7 votes, Brown 3 votes and Osobor 1 vote among the 11 voting members). Interestingly, both the media and coaches had a six-member All-Mountain West Second Team. In the case of the media vote, it was because Jaelen House and UNLV’s Dedan Thomas each received 63 votes, tied for 10th most of any player. In the case of the coaches, who knows? With silence comes speculation, mistrust and a seat at the end of the bench.