Blog

To continue the established theme, here's how metro area teams fared today ...

Three wins, four losses.

The good news is that three Albuquerque Public Schools teams advanced to their respective state title game. On Saturday the No. 5 seed La Cueva boys face No. 2 Mayfield. In girls action No. 1 Eldorado faces No. 2 Sandia.

Of course we will carry those games live on The Team.

Here are the other local scores from Thursday ...

CLASS 5A BOYS

• No. 5 La Cueva 68, No. 1 Eldorado 55 -- The notable individual performance of the game came courtesy of Bears senior Dylan Fritsch, who scoered 16 points and pulled 11 rebounds to lead La Cueva to their second straight Class 5A championship game. ... Fritsch hit a couple 3s and had some emphatic dunks, but most noticeable was his emotional bantering with Eldorado's rowdy fans. Fristch might be the most demonstrative player in Class 5A -- if it's not him then it may be Eldo freshman Cullen Neal -- and he often gestured at Eagles fans after big shots or dunks. Fristch is the type of player fans love or love to hate.
• No. 2 Mayfield 60, No. 3 Valley 57 -- Wow. No matter your allegiance you had to be impressed by the clutch free throw shooting by Mayfield. The Trojans finished 33-of-36 for the game, nearly 92 percent. Mayfield's Josh Trujillo was 14-of-14. He said, "The crowd's booing, it pumps me up." Trojans coach Tommy Morrow noted that his team usually shoots free throws pretty well, but it was 19-of-38 in Round 1. Had Mayfield shot that percentage Thursday, then Valley would have won, 57-45. ... Mike Maya carried the Vikings again, scoring 36 points for the second straight day. It did take 31 shots though.

CLASS 4A BOYS

• No. 2 Espanola Valley 59, No. 3 Albuquerque Academy 47 -- For the first time the Sun Devils will play for the state title. This year's team ensured long suffering Espanola Valley fans will fill The Pit on Saturday -- and go nuts. Should be electric. ... When asked what this meant to the community, Sun Devils coach said: "Jesus Christ, did you see them out there?" Sun Devils forward Luis Alvarado scored 24 points, drilling 5-of-8 from 3-point range.
• No. 1 Roswell 65, No. 4 Volcano Vista 57

CLASS 5A GIRLS

• No. 1 Eldorado 78, No. 5 Clovis 68 -- Antiesha Brown of the Wildcats notched 39 points, but the Eagles are back in the final game. ... Eldo's Kya De Garmo scored 21 points and added six assists. ... Dayla Dobson, another Eagle, had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
• No. 2 Sandia 52, No. 3 Las Cruces 40 -- Sandia's Camille Boal posted a nice double-double, 18 points and 13 rebounds.