CLASS 5A BOYS
Rio Rancho gets scare from Mayfield in opening round
La Cueva goes up early and cruises past Atrisco Heritage
The third seed had a scare. The seventh seed was eliminated. Otherwise, there was a dearth of drama as the Class 5A boys state basketball tournament tipped off Saturday.
Seven of the top eight seeds advanced to Wednesday’s semifinals at the Pit. No. 10 Carlsbad was the outlier after the Cavemen topped No. 7 Centennial.
Wednesday’s quarters shake out as follows:
Hobbs will face La Cueva at 9:45 a.m., Cleveland plays Carlsbad at 1:15 p.m., Rio Rancho meets Sandia at 4:45 p.m., and four-time defending state champion Volcano Vista takes on Las Cruces at 8:15 p.m.
No. 3 RIO RANCHO 66, No. 14 MAYFIELD 61: The Trojans (16-12) didn’t perform like a 14 seed, as they stood toe-to-toe with the Rams the whole way and took this game deep into the final minute before Rio Rancho (25-5) finally put it away at the line.
“I’ve never believed in the number next to the name. When it’s playoffs, it’s win or go home,” Rio Rancho coach Steve Heredia said.
Senior forward Kayden Decker helped bring the Rams back from a 14-point hole as Mayfield scored 18 of the game’s first 22 points. The Trojans were 11-of-11 from the line in the first quarter; Fernando Corona had seven points in that early surge for Mayfield.
“They came out and they challenged us,” Decker said.
Rio Rancho was spectacular from the arc as it made up the deficit in the second quarter.
The Rams knocked down three straight 3s, two by Decker, to cut the deficit to 25-17.
Down 27-17, the Rams went on a 13-3 run. And they made three more consecutive threes — making it six straight in the quarter — to tie the game at 30. Decker had two more long-range baskets in this run.
“He’s been on a heater lately, and we needed it,” Heredia said. “He’s playing like a senior that doesn’t want his season to end and he’s carrying us right now.”
Decker said the Rams, en masse, have recommitted to being in the gym.
“We know we had to get in the gym more and work,” he said. “(Today) it just happened to be me.”
Rio Rancho led 32-30 at halftime, and the Rams extended that lead gradually in the second half. Jordan McNeely canned a 3 for a 40-35 lead; later, Cayden Richardson, with an offensive rebound and putback, made it 46-37. And Dashon Bynum nailed a 3 later for the Rams.
But the Trojans were both effective and persistent and turned this game into something unexpectedly tense for Rio Rancho.
Down nine, Mayfield scored eight in a row, including a 3 from Corona, and Mayfield trailed 58-57 with just under 4 minutes to go.
Decker hit a key layup with 1:00 showing for a 62-57 lead, but the Trojans were still within three at 64-61 in the final 20 seconds. Decker made two free throws with 15.3 seconds left to seal it for Rio Rancho.
The Rams are in the quarterfinals for the first time in seven years. That drought was one of the reasons Rio Rancho made a coaching switch to Heredia in the offseason.
“We are a scary team,” Heredia said.
“We haven’t been there for a while,” Decker said. “We’re excited.”
Bynum added 17 points, McNeely 11 and Richardson 10 for the Rams.
Corona led the Trojans with 21 points.
No. 4 LA CUEVA 77, No. 13 ATRISCO HERITAGE 47: At La Cueva, the Bears started extremely fast, led by 6-7 senior forward Hunter Butler, who had 11 of his game-best 24 points in the opening eight minutes.
La Cueva (23-6) was up 23 in the first half and coasted past the outmatched Jaguars (18-11).
“That’s the plan, no mercy,” said Butler. “We’re gonna come out and show them they have no chance — quickly.”
La Cueva will face Hobbs in the quarterfinals; these two teams also met in the first round of January’s Albuquerque Metro Championships.
CJ Johnson added 12 points, Payton Fuller 11 as 11 different Bears found the scoring column.
Deon Session scored 15 points to lead Atrisco Heritage.
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