Class 2A: First Round Preview and 5 Players You Need To Know

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The brackets for the 2025 New Mexico boys state basketball tournament were announced by the NMAA on Sunday night. Here is a preview of all eight first-round matchups in Class 2A + 5 Players You Need to Know. All 8 first-round games will be played on Saturday, March 8 (weather permitting).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tucumcari (16) at Texico (1)</strong>: It's been quite an athletic year at Texico. The Wolverines football team went 12-0 and rolled to the Class 2 title. Now the hoops team is 25-2 and the No. 1 seed for the state tournament. Texico has lost just one game since Jan. 14. Tucumcari (10-17) snuck into the tournament as the #16 seed but junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2300002' first='Luis' last='Archuleta']</strong> is a baller. He recently scored the 1,000^th point of his career with one season left.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jal (9) at McCurdy (8)</strong>: Intriguing 8-9 battle. McCurdy (19-9) finished second in District 2A-5 and reached the district tourney championship game. Per MaxPreps, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2373610' first='Ryan' last='Montoya']</strong> is the second leading scorer in Class 2A at 22.1 points per game. Jal (15-12), which faces a long journey to the west side of Espanola, finished second in a very challenging District 2A-4 (4 teams made the state tourney). The Panthers are led by high-scoring guard <strong>Nolbert Cervantes</strong>, who is averaging 19.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.8 steals per game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mora (12) at Mesilla Valley Christian (5)</strong>: Mesilla Valley Christian (21-3) is one of those very good basketball teams that doesn't get a lot of attention in a crowded Las Cruces market. The Sunblazers &nbsp;swept the District 2A-3 regular season and district tourney titles and carry a 10-gamne winning streak into the state tournament. Six-foot-6 sophomore center <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2833760' first='Camden' last='Daves']</strong> does it all for MVC, averaging 21.7 points and 11.4 rebounds per game. Essentially, he's a double-double machine. Mora (16-13), located in the mountains north of Las Vegas, finished third in District 2A-5 and faces a long journey to Las Cruces. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Oak Grove Classical (13) at Pecos (4)</strong>: Pecos earned a top four seed by finishing pre-state tournament play with a flourish, downing Santa Rosa in the District 2A-6 tourney championship game. The Panthers have won 9 of 10 games overall heading into Saturday's 1st-round contest, so they're hot at the right time. And they know how to win as Pecos has won 5 Class 2A state titles since 2015-16. Leadership comes from seniors <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2819782' first='Adrian' last='Quintana']</strong> and <strong>Brandon Holton</strong> along with junior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2827281' first='Armando' last='Bustos']</strong>. Oak Grove Classical (16-9) finished second in District 2A-2 and are led by the 6-foot-4 dynamic duo of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2819878' first='Isaac' last='Rush']</strong> (16.3 ppg) and &nbsp;<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2684233' first='Brody' last='Prochnow']</strong> (16.1). &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Menaul (14) at Mesa Vista (3)</strong>: Located in the small northern New Mexico town of Ojo Caliente, Mesa Vista (23-4) has won 82.5 percent of their games the last two seasons (47-10). This year's team certainly has the talent to make a deep run in the 2A playoffs. The Trojans went undefeated in district play and won the district tournament as well, and have won 13 straight&nbsp; games. Menaul (14-15) finished third in District 2A-2 behind Legacy Academy and Oak Grove Classical. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Eunice (11) at Legacy Academy (6)</strong>: The success of the Legacy Academy (23-5) hoops team mirrors Silverbacks football in the fall. &nbsp;They went undefeated in district play before capturing the district tourney title as well. Six-foot-3 junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2300000' first='Bryant' last='Scales']</strong> has had a fabulous season, averaging 15.6 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Eunice (19-9) finished fourth in the highly competitive District 2A-4, which has four teams in the state tournament. They feature several players from the high-powered football program. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hagerman (10) at Rehoboth Christian (7)</strong>: Located five miles east of downtown Gallup, Rehoboth Christian (20-8) is another outstanding basketball team that has flown under-the-radar all season long. They swept the District 2A-1 regular season and district tourney titles. Like Eunice, Hagerman (18-10) is capable of beating many teams but District 2A-4 was so good this season the Bobcats ended up third in the district. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Raton (15) at Santa Rosa (2)</strong>: District rivals meet. Santa Rosa (24-5) has lost just two games since Dec. 21, both to district rival Pecos. The second setback came in the district tourney championship game. In between those two loses, though, Santa Rosa beat Pecos in a district playoff game. Forward <strong>John Cordova</strong> and <strong>Lachlan Ross</strong> are two of Santa Rosa's top scorers. Raton relies extensively on 6-foot-3 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2684845' first='Chase' last='Walton']</strong> to generate points and rebounds, and he's good at both. He averages close to 12 points, over 9 rebounds and over 4 blocks per game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>5 Players You Need To Know</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2373606' first='Jevon' last='Aguilar'], Hagerman</strong>: Aguilar is one of the best all-around players in Class 2A, averaging 19.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.5 steal per game. He excels on both ends of the floor.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2820011' first='Davis' last='Coyle'], Mesilla Valley Christian</strong>: Coyle averages close to a double-double for MVC with 12.8 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Judah Duran, McCurdy</strong>: Excellent complement to McCurdy's top scorer [player_tooltip player_id='2373610' first='Ryan' last='Montoya'], averaging 10.5 points and close to 5 rebounds per game. If Montoya is making shots and Duran brings his ‘A' game, McCurdy will be tough to beat.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2373607' first='Kazimieras' last='Giedraitis'], Menaul</strong>: Committed to Elms College in Massachusetts, Giedraitis leads Menaul in scoring (12.5 ppg) and steals (2.3 spg). He'll give Mesa Vista fits in the 1^st round. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2684238' first='Tyler' last='Petrini'], Raton</strong>: Solid under-the-radar performer for the Tigers as he averages 11.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">22 points to reach my 1000 point career!<a href="https://twitter.com/RussellGurule?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RussellGurule</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepHoops_NM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepHoops_NM</a> <a href="https://t.co/UJgcTMuudv">pic.twitter.com/UJgcTMuudv</a></p>&mdash; [player_tooltip player_id='2300002' first='Luis' last='Archuleta'] (@LuisArchul22522) <a href="https://twitter.com/LuisArchul22522/status/1888439133573455977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Excited to announce that I&#039;m committing to Elms College to continue my academic and athletic career. Thank you <a href="https://twitter.com/PishWork?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PishWork</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/ElmsBlazersMBB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ElmsBlazersMBB</a> for having faith and trust in me. <br><br>Go Blazers! 💛💚<a href="https://twitter.com/D3Direct?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@D3Direct</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/RussellGurule?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RussellGurule</a> <a href="https://t.co/zrSyQ45pdN">pic.twitter.com/zrSyQ45pdN</a></p>&mdash; [player_tooltip player_id='2373607' first='Kazimieras' last='Giedraitis'] 🇱🇹 (@KazimierasG) <a href="https://twitter.com/KazimierasG/status/1876891347136680158?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html -->