Volcano Vista, in trouble most of the night, erupts in fourth quarter to beat Farmington

Things were very much out of sorts for the Volcano Vista Hawks for a long stretch Thursday night.

Late in the third quarter, Class 5A’s third-ranked Hawks were down 10 at home to visiting — and unranked — Farmington. Volcano coach Greg Brown was hit with a technical. And this game, which already was dangerous enough for the Hawks, coming off the euphoria of a Tuesday buzzer-beating 3 to top No. 1 Rio Rancho, was teetering on the brink.

But Volcano Vista (19-4, 7-1) regrouped with a superb fourth quarter, Farmington’s chances took a major hit due to injury, and the Hawks escaped with a 53-41 District 1-5A victory.

“Tuesday was crazy,” junior forward David Lunn said. “Coming into today, we were trying not to have the dropoff, but it happened.”

It was senior night for Volcano Vista, and three of its regular starters, including Dunn, did not start Thursday. They all entered the game midway through the first quarter.

It was a close first half with a handful of lead changes; Farmington led 22-19 at halftime.

And the Scorpions extended quickly in the third quarter. Farmington (15-9, 2-6) — one of the few teams to own a win over Rio Rancho this season — in fact led 37-27 with two minutes to go in the third quarter. Brown had been T’d up two minutes prior to that.

But very late in the quarter, Scorpions big man Sataurus Griego, who was having a nice game, went down with a right knee injury and did not return. The 6-4 Griego was missed at both ends, the defensive end even more so.

Volcano Vista relentlessly attacked the basket in the fourth quarter, led by, but not limited to, 6-5 junior David Lunn.

The Hawks’ first seven baskets of the fourth quarter were layups, as Farmington was unable to keep Volcano Vista out of the paint.

“He makes a big difference for them,” Brown said. “Without him in there, the paint was more open for us.”

Lunn scored nine of his team-best 27 points in the fourth quarter as the Scorpions struggled to cope with his size and athleticism and ability to finish near the basket.

“It was definitely a little easier for us to get to the basket (with Griego out), but I also think we started attacking more,” Lunn said.

Volcano Vista had one 9-0 run to cut the 37-27 deficit to 37-36 less than a minute into the fourth quarter. The Scorpions were leading 41-38 with 6:11 remaining after a basket by Isaac Dinning.

Farmington did not score another point, as the Hawks scored the final 15 of the game.

“Credit to Farmington,” Brown said. “They were really ready to play tonight.”

The Hawks still have a one -game lead in 1-5A over Rio Rancho and Cleveland heading into the final week of the regular season. Volcano Vista still has one game left against the Storm.

Zander Griego and Dinning both scored 13 points for Farmington.

Lunn scored 19 of his 27 points in the second half.

James Yodice covers prep sports for the Journal. You can reach him at jyodice@abqjournal.com or via X at @JamesDYodice.