St. Pius boys win 5-4A tournament title in OT

Anyone familiar with the recent years in the boys basketball rivalry between St. Pius and Highland would find it unsurprising that yet another chapter between these two required overtime.

The latest matchup occurred Friday night in the District 5-4A tournament championship game.

And although the Sartans, ranked No. 2 in Class 4A, went an abysmal 3-of-13 from the free-throw line in the OT session, they still hung on to beat the visiting Hornets 70-67.

“Little bit of luck, little bit of grit,” a relieved St. Pius coach Ryan Myers said. “Our guys stuck together, we hit shots when we needed to, we made plays when we needed to, and made just enough plays in OT to get the win.”

The Sartans (21-5) had the eighth-ranked Hornets — who were, astonishingly, playing their SEVENTH overtime game of the season — chasing most of the way after St. Pius scored the first 11 of the second quarter for a 30-19 lead.

Highland, however, chipped away bit by bit; Jesus Licon’s four-point play at the end of the third quarter had the Hornets (15-14) within four at 54-50.

He drilled another 3 with 47.3 seconds to go for a 61-60 lead for St. Pius.

The Hornets finally tied the game at 62 with 5.5 seconds to go on an awkward-looking layup by Juan Limas.

St. Pius scored the first five in OT, but the Sartans’ dreadful performance at the line kept Highland in it; Licon had a look at a 3 to end the game, but it misfired. He finished with 29 points.

“We need to hit those free throws,” said St. Pius senior guard Mason Montoya, who scored a team-best 24 points and later was recognized as the 5-4A player of the year. “We have to put the game away, but I thought we played good overall.”

There were several other metro-area teams involved in a district tournament final on Friday night.

At Bosque School, the top-seeded Bobcats edged No. 2 seed Sandia Prep 47-44 to take the 5-3A tournament crown. Sophomore guard Josiah Wilson led Bosque with 14 points.

In Farmington, the top-seeded Scorpions downed No. 3 Rio Rancho 63-57 in the District 1-5A tournament.

The Rams were playing their fourth game in five days, having beaten Cibola, Piedra Vista and Volcano Vista earlier in the week.

The Portales boys were in the unique position of playing themselves into the Class 4A field, but the Rams fell 86-58 at Lovington in the District 4-4A tournament final.

District tournament activity will conclude around the state on Saturday.

In the metro area, Class 5A’s No. 1 boys team, Volcano Vista, is hosting Cleveland at 6 p.m. in the District 1-5A final. Sandia’s boys, ranked second, are home at 7 p.m. Saturday to La Cueva. The Albuquerque High boys are home at 3 p.m. to second-seeded Atrisco Heritage in District 5-5A.

In 4A, Albuquerque Academy plays host to Valley at 6 p.m. in the 6-4A title game.

The Sandia girls are home to La Cueva at 5 p.m. Saturday in 2-5A. At 1 p.m. at Albuquerque High School, it is the Bulldogs and Los Lunas as the 5-5A tournament ends.

St. Pius’ girls entertain Valencia at 6 p.m. in 5-4A’s final.