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State roundup: Melrose boys, both Texico teams eliminated

BERNALILLO — Despite a double-digit deficit, the No. 3 Melrose boys basketball team lost a close fought contest to No. 2 Maxwell Thursday night at Bernalillo High School, falling 68-50 to depart the Class 1A state tournament.

Two aspects of the game were main factors in the loss, with the first being the Buffs (24-7) missing open shots and Maxwell making seemingly everything. The second was the battle of the bigs, with Jordan Jasso of Melrose and Kolten Riggs of Maxwell both turning in stellar performances for their clubs.

Jasso finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and four blocks while Riggs had 18 boards, 20 points and four blocks for his second-straight double-double. Carl Gonzales led the Bears (27-3) with 26 points, going 7-of-12 from beyond the arc. Jared Lee turned in a 14-point performance for the Buffs as well.

Down by eight at halftime, Melrose came out firing on all cylinders, putting the Bears back on their heels. While they would tie the score, a couple of 3-pointers for Maxwell gave it the lead for good.

"It's one of those deals you just have to find it deep down inside of you to come back," said Melrose coach Jim Doherty. "We just couldn't match them when they are shooting 3s and we are taking 2s and not making the ones we normally make."

Hondo finished the game going 10-for-20 from the 3-point line, something both coaches pointed to as a deciding factor.

"That's basically the way we've been doing it all year long," said Maxwell coach Eloy Brazil. "We struggled in the third quarter, but we managed to come back and Kolten did a great job on [Jasso] in the fourth."

Hondo will go on to face Springer in the Class 1A championship Saturday, while the Buffs will unfortunately have to head home. The loss was bittersweet for Doherty, who coached his final game at Melrose. He's planning on retirement after this season.

"I'm leaving this place a lot better than I found it and these kids are going to be good kids in everything they do," said Doherty. "I'm looking forward to see how they grow up as young men."

The outlook is still sunny for Melrose, who will be returning almost every member of this year's team.

Class 3A boys: Santa Rosa 78, Texico 73, OT

RIO RANCHO — What looked like a Texico blowout from the get-go turned into a game of attrition, and the third-seeded Lions outscored the Wolverines in a wild finish to earn a 10 a.m. Saturday state championship date with either Pecos or Dulce at The Pit.

Texico led 17-1 after one, and extended the lead to 21 early in the second quarter before the Lions charged back. Santa Rosa, led by Joaquin Romo's 22 points, outscored the Wolverines 61-37 in the second half and overtime — including a 22-17 overtime to top off the win.

In all, eight players fouled out, with three of them on Texico's side.

Dalton Thatcher scored 31 points to lead all scorers. Braden Fraze had 12 and Nathan Phipps nine before both fouled out.

The Lions also got 14 from Cody Schattschneider, 11 from Joseph Esquibel and 10 from Emilio Ulibarri.

Class 3A girls: Tohatchi 69, Texico 44

RIO RANCHO — Third-seeded Tohatchi ran away with it early and led by as many as 28. The Cougars will move on to the 1:30 p.m. Friday title game at The Pit. They will face top-seeded Eunice, a 44-38 winner over Laguna-Acoma.

Kalian Mitchell score 26 points to lead the Cougars, going 8-of-15 from the field and 8-of-8 from the line to top three Tohatchi players in double figures.

Texico was led by guard Baylee Sours with 16 points, while center Jasmine Gannon added 12. Only five other players scored for the Wolverines, and none had more than seven.

The loss breaks a streak of two straight 3A titles and three straight years reaching the title game.

Class 2A girls: Tatum 64, Fort Sumner 52

BERNALILLO — Bailey O'Connor scored 18 points to lead three in double figures for top-seeded Tatum, which moves on to a 1:30 p.m. Friday title matchup against Escalante at The Pit. The sixth-seeded Bears upset No. 2 Logan 47-46.

Tatum (23-5) never trailed, and led by as many as 13 late in the third quarter.

Fort Sumner got 20 points from junior Jordyn Stowe, but Claudia Torres (nine) was the only other Vixen to notch more than six points.

The Vixens finished the season at 20-10.

 
 
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