Volcano Vista stuns Rio Rancho in final seconds, advances to play Cleveland in Metro boys final

As it turns out, the second verse was just as thrilling as the first — only this time, there are no more unbeaten teams remaining in Class 5A boys basketball.

David Lunn split the Rio Rancho defense for a game-winning dunk with four seconds to go to give Volcano Vista a harrowing 68-66 victory in the semifinals of the Albuquerque Metro Championships at Albuquerque High School on Friday night. Volcano Vista (10-2) will advance to Saturday’s championship to play Cleveland at 5 p.m. at Del Norte High School.

“These games are kind of what it's all about,” said Hawks coach Greg Brown. “We were on the other end of this last week, and it stung. But we learned from it. I thought we handled the loss in a responsible way.”

On New Year’s Eve, it was the Rams (11-1) who dealt the heartbreak with a thrilling 68-67 victory over Volcano Vista. This time, Lunn put the team on his back with the game on the line to knock Rio Rancho from the ranks of the unbeaten. Lunn finished with a game-high 25 points — including 19 in the second half — but none were bigger than when he brought the ball upcourt in the waning seconds. Rio Rancho was ready for Lunn, as it ran multiple defenders his way — but it didn’t matter.

“We knew a trap was coming,” Lunn said. “I decided I was going to beat the trap. I saw the lane, I just took it. If my teammates were open, I definitely would have swung it, but I had it, so I just took it.”

After Lunn scored, Rio Rancho’s Jordan McNeely couldn’t connect on a final heave from just inside half court as the buzzer sounded.

The game was tied at halftime and the evenly-matched teams spent the game trading buckets. Volcano Vista took its largest lead at 63-55 with 3:05 to play, but the Rams were able to claw back to tie it at 66-all on a pair of free throws from Kayden Decker. Decker scored all 17 of his points in the second half — including Rio Rancho’s final nine points of the third period.

Still, neither Decker nor any of his Rams teammates had any answer for Lunn once the powerful junior got rolling downhill. Nowhere was that more evident than during the game’s decisive sequence.

“When you have a player like him, it would be irresponsible not to get him the ball and in the middle of the floor,” Brown said. “… At times he’s unguardable.”

CLEVELAND 59, SANDIA 37: Ajay Vigil scored 21 points and the Storm (11-2) pulled away from the Matadors (9-5) in the other Metro semifinal.

Cleveland extended a 10-point halftime lead to 19 after three quarters and cruised from there in a victory where Sandia struggled to score consistently. That was especially evident in the second half, when the Matadors managed just 12 points.

“Our goal is to challenge them to make tough shots,” said Storm coach Zack Cole. “We don't want them taking open shots.

“... So it takes a lot of communication, and it just takes five guys being locked in at the same time. I'm real proud of our boys because they executed that tonight.”

Cleveland won in comfortable fashion despite a relatively quiet evening from star guard Remy Albrecht, who finished with just four points on the evening.

“I'm so proud of Remy, too, because he knows we're not just him,” Cole said. “And I think this tournament makes you play guys because you play four games in five days. So you've got to play guys. We're more than just Remy.”