Rams, Hawks set for championship showdown

RIO RANCHO – Neither of the semifinals on Tuesday night at the Rio Rancho Holiday Hoops Classic produced much in the way of fireworks or down-to-the-wire theater.

Hopes will be much higher for a tight finish when No. 3-ranked Volcano Vista (7-1) and the undefeated, fourth-ranked Rams (7-0) meet for the tournament championship on the last day of 2025.

“Four-time state champ, district rival, let’s go,” Rio Rancho coach Steve Heredia said.

The District 1-5A rivals roll into Wednesday’s 2 p.m. final following convincing semifinal victories on Tuesday. The Hawks, as one might expect, dominated 3A Navajo Prep 59-24. Rio Rancho in the late semifinal won 74-59 over Sandia in a game that wasn’t as close as the score would indicate.

Neither the Rams nor the Matadors were at full strength for this matchup. Sandia’s injuries at the guard position have been well documented; Rio Rancho’s 6-foot-5 senior power forward, Cayden Richardson, missed the game because he turned an ankle in the walkthrough earlier in the day, Heredia said, adding that Richardson is unlikely to be in uniform on Wednesday.

But Heredia said he does believe Richardson, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder in the early portion of the season, will be back in time for next week’s metro tournament.

He wasn’t missed much Tuesday.

The Rams’ Zeke Chavez nailed a 3-pointer six seconds into the game and Rio Rancho never trailed. It opened the game on a 7-0 run, and added a 9-0 run later in the first quarter, keyed by another 3 from Chavez.

“We got contributions from a lot of different players,” Heredia said. “No one statistically is standing out, but we’re getting contributions deep in our bench and we’re playing defense.”

Sandia (6-4) hung around, and in fact was only down 10, 35-25, into the final minute of the first half.

But Chris Lucero, and then David Santistevan, both nailed 3s in that last minute and the Rams carried a 41-25 lead into halftime.

Rio Rancho put the game away with an 11-0 run to open the third quarter, with Chavez connecting on yet another triple. He scored the final seven points of that run (17-0 total including the end of the first half), for a commanding 52-25 lead.

“We play team-first basketball and that’s what works for us,” said 6-5 junior forward Noah Lovato, who led the Rams with 19 points. “We share the ball really well.”

Chavez finished with 15 points, and 6-6 senior Kayden Decker, working inside effectively, added 14 points.

In the first semifinal, Volcano Vista was out quickly on the Eagles, leading by 14 in the first quarter. Senior Finley Fitak buried three 3s in the opening eight minutes for the Hawks. Fitak finished with five 3s and a team-best 15 points. Houston Brown added four 3s and 14 points.

But it was junior forward David Lunn who led Volcano Vista with 21 points. All the starters were out by the start of the fourth quarter, when the Hawks led 57-21 and the clock was already running.

Also Tuesday, Del Norte routed Valley, and Hope Christian did the same to St. Pius.