How It Happened: Class 5A Semifinals

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Class 5A Semifinals – Thursday</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sandia 74, Hobbs 39</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Standout Players</strong>: Sandia enhanced its reputation as one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the state. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2292960' first='Zaire' last='Ndyabagye']</strong> led the Matadors with 32 points, connecting on 6-of-7-point attempts (11-14 FG overall) . He also had 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Freshman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2714567' first='Isaiah' last='Brown']</strong> (12 points) and senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1687823' first='Thomas' last='Adams']</strong> had a pair of 3-pointers each. [player_tooltip player_id='1687828' first='Abraham' last='Pena'] had 13 points for Hobbs, which played most of the game without 7-foot center [player_tooltip player_id='1524943' first='Parker' last='Henderson'], who suffered a foot injury in the quarterfinals.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Key Stats</strong>: Sandia's 3-point shooting, obviously. At the end of the 3^rd quarter the Matadors were 10-of-21 from behind the arc. They also had assists on 16 of their 20 baskets, evidence of their superb ball movement. They finished the game 13-of-28 shooting 3s and appropriately ended the game with a 3.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>How It Happened</strong>: Sandia came out of the gate with guns blazing. They drained several 3-pointers in the opening minutes, stunning the Eagles. They led 22-5 with two minutes left in the 1^st quarter. They finished the 1^st quarter 6-of-8 from 3-point range and held a 25-10 lead after the opening 8 minutes. Things slowed down offensively for Sandia in the 2^nd quarter as they scored just seven points in the opening 5:32 of the period. But they still led, 32-15. The Matadors held for the last shot and [player_tooltip player_id='2292960' first='Zaire' last='Ndyabagye'] drove the lane, attracted the Hobbs defenders&nbsp; and fed Josh McDonald for an open layup at the buzzer. Sandia led, 38-19, at halftime, connecting on 7-of-13 3-pointers. They had assists on 14 of their 15 first-half baskets. The Matadors outscored Hobbs, 17-12, in the 3^rd quarter and then scored the first 7 points of the 4^th quarter for a 31-point lead. Ballgame.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sandia head coach Danny Brown talks about their Semifinal win at the 2025 Nusenda Credit Union State Basketball Championships. <a href="https://twitter.com/nusendacu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nusendacu</a> <a href="https://t.co/MhkkMM1b60">pic.twitter.com/MhkkMM1b60</a></p>&mdash; NMAA (@_NMAA) <a href="https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1900338026313900430?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sandia Matadors advance to the 5A final on Saturday night. <a href="https://t.co/GRTYvxPcqM">pic.twitter.com/GRTYvxPcqM</a></p>&mdash; NMAA (@_NMAA) <a href="https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1900336983853109376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Volcano Vista 70, Roswell 43</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Standout Players</strong>: We knew Volcano Vista sharpshooter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1488493' first='Rian' last='Gonzales']</strong> was a 3-point sniper. After all, he holds the state's single game record for most triples in a game with 17. Thursday, he drained 9 3-pointers and finished with 27 points in Volcano Vista's convincing win over Roswell. Gonzales was 9-of-10 from beyond the arc, an incredible performance under the state tournament pressure, and added 7 rebounds. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2111977' first='David' last='Lunn']</strong> had 18 points and 5 rebounds, while megastar <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1176300' first='Kenyon' last='Aguino']</strong> had 11 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists for a double-double. Jaylen Cloud led Roswell with 17 points. He was the only Coyotes player in double figures. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Key Stats</strong>: Thanks largely to Gonzales, Volcano Vista burned Roswell on the perimeter, burying 11-of-22 3-point attempts.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>How It Happened</strong>: Volcano Vista opened a 12-7 lead after the first quarter before seizing complete control in the second quarter, outscoring Roswell, 19-7, for a 31-14 halftime lead. The Hawks made 8-of-14 shots in the third quarter and 7-of-10 in the 4^th quarter to pull away in the second half. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Volcano Vista head coach Greg Brown talks about their Semifinal win at the 2025 Nusenda Credit Union State Basketball Championships. <a href="https://twitter.com/nusendacu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nusendacu</a> <a href="https://t.co/FZGmsNrTeS">pic.twitter.com/FZGmsNrTeS</a></p>&mdash; NMAA (@_NMAA) <a href="https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1900391305202852086?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Volcano Vista advanced to Saturday night's 5A final against Sandia. <a href="https://t.co/olPkJtedKL">pic.twitter.com/olPkJtedKL</a></p>&mdash; NMAA (@_NMAA) <a href="https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1900389938790883661?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->