1A Boys State Tournament Preview

<p>The New Mexico High School Basketball State Tournament starts this Saturday March 5th, and this article will go over the Boys 1A Bracket consisting of 16 teams and 8 matchups. The First Round is Saturday March 5th, the Quarterfinals are Wednesday March 9th, the Semifinals are Friday March 11th and the Championship games are Saturday March 12th. </p> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">#1 Magdalena vs #16 Ramah</span></strong></p> <p>Magdalena is the defending 2022 state champions from last season. Magdalena finished this regular season as the #1 seed in the 1A bracket. They went 27-1 in the regular season and will be led by [player_tooltip player_id="1076693" first="Joren" last="Mirabal"] who averaged 26.1 points per game in the regular season. The teams second leading scorer was D’Shaun Vinyard who averaged 16.9 points per game. Coach Jory Mirabal and Magdalena will have a home game in the opening round. Ramah secured the #16 seed in this tournament after going 13-7 in the regular season. They are led by Bowdy Evans and McKay Evans who are the two teams leading scorers. </p> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">#8 Legacy Academy vs #9 Dora</span></strong></p> <p>Legacy Academy comes into this tournament as the 8th seed after finishing 19-7 in the regular season and 11-1 in district play. Raymond Tavarez and Robert Turrieta led Legacy Academy to the District Title. Coach Christopher Perez and Legacy Academy will play the opening round at home. Dora went 16-9 in the regular season and finished 2nd in district play at 4-2. This team is led by their seniors Cache Skelley and Jaden Ramirez. </p> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">#5 Clovis Christian vs #12 Evangel Christian Academy</span></strong></p> <p>Clovis Christian finished the regular season at 19-8 and won district with a 9-1 record. This team is led by Coach Trent McKay and their star players Noah Gershon and Carter Teune. Carter Teune averaged 18.1 points per game and Noah Gershon averaged 17.2 points per game. Those two were one of the best scoring duos in the state this season. Evangel Christian Academy finished the regular season with an impressive 21-6 record and 10-3 in their district play. This is a young team surrounded by one senior Andres Garcia.  </p> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">#4 Roy/Mosquero vs #13 Cliff</span></strong></p> <p>Roy/Mosquero had an excellent regular season and was the district champs going 22-5 this year and 10-0 in district play. They are one of the deepest teams in this tournament and have four playing averaging over 10 points per game. [player_tooltip player_id="1285510" first="Lane" last="Clavel"] is averaging 18.8 points per game, Jackson Fudge is averaging 13.2 points per game, Ayden Clavel is averaging 11.5 points per game and Matthew Libby averaged 10.6 points per game. Cliff had a solid regular season going 15-8 and they are led by Coach Brian Shock. This is a pretty young team surrounded by one senior, Josh Agnew. </p> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">#3 Mesilla Valley Christian vs #14 Coronado</span></strong></p> <p>Mesilla Valley was one of the best teams this season in the 1A Class and finished 20-1. They were the district champs and went 8-0 in district play. Coach Doug Coyle and Senior Captains Carlo Velarde and James Benjamin. Coronado secured the #14 seed and were led by Sophomore Marcos Martinez who turned into one of the top young scorers in New Mexico this year. </p> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">#6 Fort Sumner/House vs #11 Reserve</span></strong></p> <p>Fort Sumner/House had a solid regular season going 17-4 and finishing 2nd in district play at 8-2. This team played in one of the toughest districts in the 1A Class and were led by Coach Brad Holland. This is a young squad surrounded by senior Ross Lee. Resevre also competed inside a tough district class and still went a solid 17-9 and 6-2 in district play. They were led by Seniors Deshaun Delao and Jared Nicolds. </p> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">#7 Melrose vs #10 Springer</span></strong></p> <p>Melrose secured the 7th seed in this 1A tournament and looks like one of the most underrated teams this year. They finished 18-8 in the regular season and came in second during district play going 8-3. They were led by Senior star Logan Devaney who averaged 11.9 points per game and Brandon Garcia who averaged 9.9 points per game. Springer had a nice regular season as well, they finished 15-8 and 7-3 in their district. They are led by Senior Captain Jeramiah Apodaca. </p> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">#2 Elida vs #15 Cimarron</span></strong></p> <p>Elida secured the #2 seed in this 1A Tournament after finishing 20-5 this year and winning the district title going 6-0. They are led by their seniors Jesse Woodruff, Rylan Creighton and Gavin Hartman. This team is one of the favorites to win the championship in this tournament. Cimarron secured the 15th seed in this tournament and clinched their spot going 6-4 in district play. They are led by Captain Lee Kenneke. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>