Week Five’s Top Matchups of the Week

Now that we’re going into Week Five of the High School Basketball season in New Mexico, there is several teams that are starting to hit their stride before the Christmas Holiday. Week Four was full of more exciting matchups from around the State and this upcoming week has several more intriguing non-district matchups across New Mexico. This week’s matchups will take place from Monday December 19th to Saturday December 24th.

Tuesday December 20th, 2022:

Valencia (5-6) vs Los Lunas (6-1) at 2:00pm

A Los Lunas rivalry that is a 5A and 4A matchup Tuesday Night. After a slow start to the season, Valencia High School has won four off their previous five game. The Loss Lunas Tigers own a Top Five record in the 5A Class. The Tigers will be led by Guard Jalin Holland Jalin Holland 6'5" | SG Los Lunas | 2025 State NM who’s averaging over 20 points per game as a sophomore who is having an excellent season. The Jaguars will be led by Forward Ali Abdullah Ali Abdullah 6'5" | PF Valencia | 2023 State NM who leads the team in scoring and rebounding this season. The athletic forward is averaging 14.6 points per game and 7.4 rebounds per game. This should be a fun Star Matchup to watch.

Del Norte (7-2) vs La Cueva (3-2) at 7:30pm

This is another 4A and 5A showdown between the Del Norte Knights and the La Cueva Bears. The Knights will be led by Shane Douma-Sanchez Shane Douma-Sanchez 6'1" | PG Del Norte | 2023 State NM and Estevan Devargas Estevan Devargas 5'9" | CG Del Norte | 2023 State NM who account for 42 of the teams 67 points per game this season. The Bears are the team with more depth, and have four players averaging double figures in points per game. Cameron Dyer Cameron Dyer 6'3" | SG La Cueva | 2025 State NM (14.5), Daniel Lovato Daniel Lovato 6'5" | PF La Cueva | 2025 State NM (13.0), Cedarius Yates Cedarius Yates 6'3" | SF La Cueva | 2023 State NM (13.0), and Isaiah Denetclaw Isaiah Denetclaw 6'3" | SG La Cueva | 2023 State NM (12.0) this season. If each of these four get rolling, it might be too much for the Knights to handle.

Wednesday December 21st, 2022:

West Mesa (5-3) vs Manzano (4-4) at 7:00pm

Both West Mesa and Manzano have looked solid to start the season so far. Each of these teams are coming off a loss last time out, West Mesa lost 63-62 to Del Norte and Manzano lost 6-51 to Atrisco Heritage. The matchup of the night might be Manzano’s Nick Dial Nick Dial 6'4" | SF Manzano | 2023 State NM vs West Mesa’s Elijah Brody Elijah Brody 6'2" | SF West Mesa | 2024 State NM . Nick Dial Nick Dial 6'4" | SF Manzano | 2023 State NM is the Monarch’s leading scorer & rebounder averaging 18.8 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game this season. He is currently tied for 15th in New Mexico in terms of points per game. Nick Dial Nick Dial 6'4" | SF Manzano | 2023 State NM will most likely be paired against Elijah Brody Elijah Brody 6'2" | SF West Mesa | 2024 State NM from West Mesa who has arguably had the biggest impact among transfers this season. Elijah Brody Elijah Brody 6'2" | SF West Mesa | 2024 State NM has a game winner on his belt and is one of the Mustangs leading scorers this season. Whoever outplays the other will help put their team in better position to win.

Atrisco Heritage (9-1) vs Valley (5-4) at 7:30pm

This Wednesday Night showdown between Atrisco Heritage and Valley is a 4A/5A matchup. This game has my interest because of the guard-play from both teams. Atrisco Heritage is led by Chris Parra Chris Parra 6'0" | PG Atrisco Heritage | 2023 State NM and Latavious Morris Latavious Morris 5'8" | PG Atrisco Heritage | 2025 State NM who are one of the most dangerous 1-2 punches among back-courts in the state. They compliment each other well and can play off of each other. Valley’s Guards are Luciano Mondragon Luciano Mondragon 5'10" | PG Valley | 2025 State NM and Tyler Kozlowski Tyler Kozlowski 5'10" | CG Valley | 2024 State NM . Luciano Mondragon Luciano Mondragon 5'10" | PG Valley | 2025 State NM is a traditional Point Guard like Chris Parra Chris Parra 6'0" | PG Atrisco Heritage | 2023 State NM and is a pest defensively and creates havoc on that side of the floor. Tyler Kozlowski Tyler Kozlowski 5'10" | CG Valley | 2024 State NM is one of the best shooters in New Mexico with his outside shooting and leads the Vikings in scoring averaging 15 points per game. Whichever team gets hot first could determine how this game will go.