St. Michael's and Robertson cruise to 3A boys final

St. Michael’s and Robertson still have a little bit of unfinished business to handle.

The Horseman and the Cardinals will meet for a fourth time — with a blue trophy on the line — in the boys Class 3A championship game Saturday at the Pit at noon. Both teams rolled in their respective semifinal matchups Friday, as St. Michael’s dispatched Bosque by 30 points and Robertson cruised past Santa Fe Indian by 29.

Robertson won two of the three regular season games between the northern New Mexico rivals.

“They know what we run. We know what they run,” said Robertson’s Nathaniel Gonzales. “It’s gonna be a dogfight.”

No. 1 ST. MICHAEL’S 68, No. 5 BOSQUE 38: When the Horseman decided to turn up the heat, there wasn’t much the Bobcats could do.

St. Michael’s (24-6) raced out to a 15-point first quarter lead and cruised from there against a shell-shocked Bosque (22-8) squad. Relying on a suffocating full-court press, the Horseman forced nine turnovers — nearly half of Bosque’s total for the game — and scored 20 straight points to turn a 5-3 deficit into a 23-5 lead. The Bobcats would get no closer than 14 points the rest of the way.

“We know how to beat the press,” said Bosque coach Clifton Davidson. “… I think we had a young team today, that honestly for the first time this year, really showed our youth and not getting to the spots that we needed to to break the press.”

There was a period in the opening stanza where the Bobcats struggled to advance past halfcourt while the Horseman accumulated easy baskets. While St. Michael’s never unleashed the press to that same extent the rest of the game, it wasn’t really necessary.

Horseman coach Dakota Montoya says he’s selective as to when his team will use its pressure.

“I kind of gauge it by energy,” Montoya said. “How’s our traps? How’s our rotations? Are we are we moving well? … It’s just kind of a matchup deal. And if I feel like it’s working well, we’ll stay in it. If not, we’ll make some adjustments and try to find a better time to get back into it.”

While the defense set the tone for St. Michael’s, it was an egalitarian effort on offense for the Horsemen: Five different players scored in double figures — led by Ryan Hunt and Dillan McCoy with 11 apiece. St. Michael’s outscored Bosque 21-6 in points off turnovers, 38-14 in the paint and 15-2 on fast breaks.Josiah Wilson and Oliver Tumolo led the way for the Bobcats with nine points apiece.

No. 2 ROBERTSON 64, No. 6 SANTA FE INDIAN 35: The Braves (19-11) put the Cardinals (27-4) on their heels during the first four minutes, but the rest of the game belonged to Robertson.

The Cardinals needed a little bit of time to find their footing, while Santa Fe Indian raced out to an 11-2 lead. Robertson then proceeded to outscore its opponent 30-6 over the rest of the opening half, and from there, the rout was on.

George Smith (14 points), Jesse James Gonzales (14) and Nathaniel Gonzales (13) led the way for a speedy Cardinals offense. Meanwhile, the Braves didn’t hit a shot from the floor in the third quarter and shot just 3-for-27 over the course of the entire second half.

“We knew that they were gonna come out hot and ready to play and we’ve got to withstand runs,” said Robertson coach Adam Bustos. “Fortunately for us, we did and it was early for us to be able to stay focused, stay composed and stick with our game plan.”

Focus was the theme for the Cardinals during what has been a turbulent season. Regarded as one of the Class 3A favorites all year, Robertson had to endure an in-season coaching change when James Branch, who led the Cardinals to three straight title appearances, was arrested and charged with criminal sexual contact with a minor, false imprisonment and battery. While it was an abrupt change, the Robertson players have adapted well.

“I’ve been with these guys for a long time, so it made it a little bit easier,” Bustos said. “But, yeah, there was an adjustment period. But I think at the end of the day, we all want the same thing. And when you focus on that, everything behind you doesn’t really cloud anything else.”