The Top Matchups To Look Forward To In Week Three

With the first two weeks of the Boys High School Basketball regular season complete, we look forward to the top matchups in Week Three taking place from Tuesday December 6th to Saturday December 10th.

Tuesday December 6th, 2022:

Los Lunas vs Atrisco Heritage at 7:00pm

The Los Lunas Tigers will host the Atrisco Heritage Academy Jaguars Tuesday Night. Los Lunas comes in undefeated at 5-0 and Atrisco Heritage comes in at 3-1. This matchup will be centered around two of the top prospects in the 2025 Class: Jalin Holland Jalin Holland 6'5" | SG Los Lunas | 2025 State NM and Latavious Morris Latavious Morris 5'8" | PG Atrisco Heritage | 2025 State NM . Both have quickly become two of the top players around the state with their elite scoring. An important factor in this game will be if Chris Parra Chris Parra 6'0" | PG Atrisco Heritage | 2023 State NM and Marquise Renfro from Atrisco Heritage will both be back in the lineup after missing the teams last game vs Eldorado. If both players are unavailable again, the biggest X-Factors in this game will be Tony Pacheco Tony Pacheco 6'0" | SF Atrisco Heritage | 2023 State NM , Antonio Ortiz Antonio Ortiz 6'3" | PF Atrisco Heritage Academy | 2023 State NM and Ezra Guest Ezra Guest 6'0" | SG Los Lunas | 2023 State NM .

Pojoaque Valley vs St. Michael’s at 7:00pm

The St. Michael’s Horsemen are undefeated at 4-0 and won the Bobby Rodriguez Capital City Tournament Championship. They were led by Adam Montoya Adam Montoya 6'2" | PG St Michaels | 2023 State NM who was the Tournament MVP. The Pojoaque Valley Elks are 2-1 this season and led by Star Shooting Guard Derek Sanchez Derek Sanchez 6'1" | CG Pojoaque | 2023 State NM who’s averaging 27.5 points per game. This game will come down to the Star Shooting Guard’s Adam Montoya Adam Montoya 6'2" | PG St Michaels | 2023 State NM vs Derek Sanchez Derek Sanchez 6'1" | CG Pojoaque | 2023 State NM .

Wednesday December 7th, 2022:

Highland vs Sandia at 7:30pm

Two of the top basketball programs in New Mexico faceoff this Wednesday Night at Highland High School. The defending 4A Champion Hornets come in undefeated at 4-0 while the Matadors come in at 2-1. The Hornets leading scorer is Alexis Dominguez Alexis Dominguez 5'10" | PG Highlands | 2023 State NM averaging 21.3 points per game and the Matadors leading scorer is Andrew Hill Andrew Hill 6'2" | CG Sandia | 2023 State NM who also averaged 21.3 points per game this season. Both teams play really fast and up tempo. Their is solid three-point shooting on both sides of the floor which includes; Dalen Moyer Dalen Moyer 6'0" | CG Sandia | 2023 State NM , Raul Standford, Jesus Licon and Brandon Medina. Also expect Forwards Fernando Hernandez Fernando Hernandez 6'5" | PF Highland | 2023 State NM and Lamarion Coleman Lamarion Coleman 6'2" | SF Sandia | 2023 State NM to bring some energy with their hustle plays.

Volcano Vista vs La Cueva at 7:30pm

This is a rematch of last year’s 5A Boys State Semifinals playoff matchup from last season. Both teams lost a lot of their core from last year, but they have both started the new season off strong. Volcano Vista is 4-0 and La Cueva is 2-0. The most intriguing matchup in my opinion will be the two starting Point Guard’s on both squads; Hudson Brown Hudson Brown 5'9" | PG Volcano Vista | 2025 State NM and Josiah Guliford Josiah Guliford 5'10" | PG La Cueva | 2023 State NM . They’re very similar in their styles of play which includes leadership, physical defense and great playmaking. Each of the two Point Guard’s are the engines for their teams and what makes their squads go. They both are more than capable of lighting up the scoreboard but will make other winning plays besides scoring. Hudson Brown Hudson Brown 5'9" | PG Volcano Vista | 2025 State NM and Josiah Guliford Josiah Guliford 5'10" | PG La Cueva | 2023 State NM are old-school traditional Points Guard’s every team would love to have in their basketball program. It will be difficult for either player to get the best of the other but will be a fun matchup to watch.

Thursday December 8th, 2022:

St.Pius vs Valley at 7:00pm

Two of 4A’s best team’s faceoff in an early season showdown this Thursday Night. The Sartans will be led by Star big man Brian Kalb Brian Kalb 6'8" | PF St Pius | 2023 State NM who has led St. Pius to an early 3-2 record so far this season. The Valley Vikings come in at 3-1 and our led by their Guard’s Julian Chavez Julian Chavez 6'1" | SG Valley | 2024 State NM and Tyler Kozlowski Tyler Kozlowski 5'10" | SG Valley | 2024 State NM . Julian Chavez Julian Chavez 6'1" | SG Valley | 2024 State NM is averaging 16.8 points per game and Tyler Kozlowski Tyler Kozlowski 5'10" | SG Valley | 2024 State NM is averaging 13.8 points per game. If that back-court gets going early, it will be a long night for St. Pius.

Friday December 9th, 2022:

Las Cruces vs Del Norte at 12:00pm

Both the Las Cruces Bulldawgs and Del Norte Knights lost in their respective State Championship Games last season. They have both started this season off the right foot as the Knights are undefeated at 4-0 whereas the Bulldawgs are 2-1. Del Norte’s Shane Douma-Sanchez Shane Douma-Sanchez 6'1" | PG Del Norte | 2023 State NM leads the state in scoring averaging 31.8 points per game and assists averaging 8 assists per game. Teammate Estevan Devargas Estevan Devargas 5'9" | CG Del Norte | 2023 State NM is the team’s second leading scorer averaging over 12 points per game. They will be going against the Bulldawgs back-court of Keilyn Parker Keilyn Parker 5'11" | CG Clovis | 2024 State NM and David Cruz David Cruz 5'9" | CG Las Cruces | 2024 NM who are two really good defensive guards that will be the biggest factors for Las Cruces this Friday Night.

La Cueva vs Highland at 7:30pm

The La Cueva Bears will have their home opener this Friday Night vs the 4A defending State Champion, Highland Hornets. This will be a fun matchup between two of the state’s best Point Guards; Josiah Guliford Josiah Guliford 5'10" | PG La Cueva | 2023 State NM and Alexis Dominguez Alexis Dominguez 5'10" | PG Highlands | 2023 State NM . The biggest X-Factors for the Bears will be Cedarius Yates Cedarius Yates 6'3" | SF La Cueva | 2023 State NM and Isaiah Denetclaw Isaiah Denetclaw 6'3" | SG La Cueva | 2023 State NM . For the Hornets, it will be Raul Standford and Fernando Hernandez Fernando Hernandez 6'5" | PF Highland | 2023 State NM . This has the opportunity to be one of the best games of the week.

Saturday December 10th, 2022:

Valley vs Artesia at 2:30pm

The Artesia Bulldogs look to get back on the road vs the Valley Vikings. They have started the season surprisingly slow at 0-3 but will be led by their Star Nick Sanchez Nick Sanchez 5'9" | PG Artesia | 2023 State NM in hopes of turning their season around. He is more than capable of taking this game over by himself. The Valley Vikings have caught many around the community by surprise with their hot start at 3-1. They have a lot of young talent to build around for the next few years around players like Julian Chavez Julian Chavez 6'1" | SG Valley | 2024 State NM , Tyler Kozlowski Tyler Kozlowski 5'10" | SG Valley | 2024 State NM and Luciano Mondragon.