Where Things Stand: Class 4A and 3A

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In less than a month, the 2025 New Mexico boys basketball playoffs will begin with first-round matchups at various home sites. The quarterfinals will be played Wednesday, March 12 at the Pit In Albuquerque (Class 5A and 4A), Rio Rancho Events Center (Class 3A and 2A) and Bernalillo High School (Class 1A). Here's how Class 4A and 3A look right now in mid-February.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>CLASS 4A</strong>: Is there parity in Class 4A? You betcha. The top five teams in the latest MaxPreps rankings come from four different districts. District 4A-6 has four teams (Albuquerque Academy, Valley, Hope Christian, Del Norte) ranked in the top nine. What does it mean? The state tournament is WIDE open. At this point, picking a winner is a foolish endeavor. . .No. 1 St. Pius X (18-5, 6-0) is unbeaten in District 4A-5 play and they prepare to face Valencia Friday night. The Sartans have already clinched the district title as second-place Grants has three district losses. Defending champion Highland remains a dangerous team, especially since 3-point sharpshooter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1687821' first='Jesus' last='Licon']</strong> returned from a major injury. . .No. 2 Artesia leads District 4A-4 by two games with three district games left. The Bulldogs host Lovington (14-9, 1-2) Friday night. Artesia is led by the dynamic junior scoring duo of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1846065' first='Charlie' last='Campbell']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1717327' first='Braylon' last='Vega']</strong>. . .No. 3 Albuquerque Academy (18-6, 6-0) leads District 4A-6 by 2.5 games over Valley and Del Norte. Senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2818784' first='Eli' last='Dominguez']</strong> (averaging over 20 points per game) scored 38 points in a recent win over West Mesa, while 6-foot-8 junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1717250' first='Hunter' last='Aime']</strong> is an intriguing big man prospect. . .The District 4A-2 race tightened up considerably last Friday night when No. 5 Pojoaque Valley stunned No. 4 Espanola Valley, 65-54, on the Sundevils' home floor. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2819625' first='Mario' last='Baros']</strong> scored 14 points for PVHS. Espanola Valley still leads the standings by one game over the Elks with three district games remaining. . .It's a testament to No. 6 Valley's strength of schedule that the Vikings are ranked as high as they are with a 10-12 overall record. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2677085' first='Angelito' last='Villa'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1540114' first='Carter' last='Monroe']</strong> are two of the top scorers in Class 4A. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">MaxPreps Basketball Rankings<br>Last updated 2/10/25<br>Boys<br>Class 4A<a href="https://t.co/ftTK3Z2G5D">https://t.co/ftTK3Z2G5D</a>. Pius X<br>2.Artesia<br>3.Albuquerque Academy<br>4.Espanola Valley<br>5.Pojoaque Valley<br>6.Valley<br>7.Hope Christian<br>8.Highland<br>9.Del Norte<br>10.Lovington <a href="https://t.co/3EXIXgrSPP">pic.twitter.com/3EXIXgrSPP</a></p>&mdash; NMAA (@_NMAA) <a href="https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1889430376520483249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 11, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top 10 Scorers In Class 4A (Per MaxPreps)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2774800,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-13-at-16-19-46-Division-4A-Boys-Basketball-2024-25-Points-Per-Game-Stat-Leaders.png"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-13-at-16-19-46-Division-4A-Boys-Basketball-2024-25-Points-Per-Game-Stat-Leaders.png?w=616" alt="" class="wp-image-2774800" /></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: MaxPreps</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>CLASS 3A</strong>: If it feels like the road to the Class 3A state championship runs through District 3A-2, you're probably right. Four of the top five teams in the latest MaxPreps rankings are from that district, starting with No. 1 St. Michael's (19-4, 7-0) and continuing with No. 2 Robertson, No. 4 Santa Fe Indian and No. 5 West Las Vegas. The Horsemen have been dominant in recent weeks, winning 14 of their last 15 games. The only loss during that stretch came on a buzzer-beating jumper by Santa Fe. St. Michael's carries a 7-game winning streak into Thursday night's matchup at West Las Vegas. Tuesday, they host Robertson in a likely No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup. The Horsemen are the ultimate TEAM, with just one player averaging over 10 points per game (<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2706585' first='Ryan' last='Hunt']</strong>). . . Robertson (19-4, 5-2) features the high-scoring trio of freshman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2714561' first='George' last='Smith'] (</strong>16.9 ppg), senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2818687' first='Jesse' last='James Gonzales']</strong> (16.2) and sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2216707' first='Nathan' last='Gonzales']</strong> (12.4). . .No. 3 Tohatchi (21-2, 9-0) is this season's most under-the-radar team. The Cougars have won 13 straight games heading not Friday night's game at Newcomb. The senior duo of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2684834' first='Josh' last='Dawes']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2684829' first='Kyle' last='Yazzie']</strong> has combined for 33.7 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. . .Santa Fe Indian (13-8, 4-3) rose to No. 4 in the 3A rankings after back-to-back impressive wins over Robertson and West Las Vegas. . .No. 6 Tularosa (18-5, 3-0) hosts NMMI on Tuesday with the District 3A-4 title at stake. . .No. 7 Bosque (16-6, 5-1) tops District 3A-5 by one-half game over Sandia Prep and could be a dangerous team in the post-season behind leading scorer <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2309741' first='Josiah' last='Wilson']</strong> (14.1 ppg), who's just a sophomore. . .Cobre (13-9) is ranked No. 11 by MaxPreps but 3A's leading scorer <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2693613' first='Zavin' last='Guck']</strong> (listed at 6-foot-4) makes the Indians an intriguing team to watch during the stretch run. Guck is averaging 24.8 points and 11.0 rebounds per game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">MaxPreps Basketball Rankings<br>Last updated 2/10/25<br>Boys<br>Class 3A<a href="https://t.co/ftTK3Z2G5D">https://t.co/ftTK3Z2G5D</a>. Michael's<br>2.Robertson<br>3.Tohatchi<br>4.Santa Fe Indian School<br>5.West Las Vegas<br>6.Tularosa<br>7.Bosque<br>8.Navajo Prep<a href="https://t.co/84VPc8iswK">https://t.co/84VPc8iswK</a> Springs<br>10.Sandia Prep <a href="https://t.co/2vX8FSIXSg">pic.twitter.com/2vX8FSIXSg</a></p>&mdash; NMAA (@_NMAA) <a href="https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1889430474180735307?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 11, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top 10 Scorers In Class 3A (Per MaxPreps)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2774830,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-13-at-16-31-55-Division-3A-Boys-Basketball-2024-25-Points-Per-Game-Stat-Leaders.png"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-13-at-16-31-55-Division-3A-Boys-Basketball-2024-25-Points-Per-Game-Stat-Leaders.png?w=609" alt="" class="wp-image-2774830" /></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: MaxPreps</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>                              </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->