Video/Recap: Checking In On The Defending 3A Champions

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>SANTA FE</strong> -– Robertson lost four of its top five scorers from last season's Class 3A state championship team. The Cardinals went 28-4 and beat rival St. Michael's in the title game at the Pit.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2025-26 edition of the Cardinals won't equal that impressive win total, but in a rebuilding year of sorts they've been competitive. If anything, this week reflects the ups and downs of the past three months for Robertson.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tuesday, Robertson stunned St. Michael's, the No. 1 team in Class 3A in the latest MaxPreps ranking, 71-69, on dynamic junior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2216708' first='Michael' last='Marr']</strong>'s 35-foot do-or-die three-pointer at the buzzer.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Thursday, Robertson traveled to Santa Fe Indian School, fell behind early and never caught up in a 67-51 loss to the Braves at Everett Chavez Pueblo Pavilion in a winner-take-all battle for second place in District 3A-2.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The loss cemented a third-place finish for the Cardinals. Robertson is safely in the Class 3A state tournament as they're currently ranked No. 9 in both the latest MaxPreps ranking and the weekly Coaches poll. But they will likely be a middle or lower tier seed.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Thursday night's loss snapped Robertson's four-game winning streak. Santa Fe Indian jumped out a 11-1 lead, forcing Robertson to call two timeouts in the first 5-1/2 minutes of the game. The Braves' relentless defense frustrated the Cardinals all night long with numerous steals, deflected passes and blocked shots.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Robertson didn't score its first field goal of the game until less than two minutes remained in the first quarter. But two late steals and layups by Santa Fe Indian gave the Braves a 17-5 lead after the first quarter. Robertson committed seven turnovers in the first quarter, a testament to the Braves' tenacious defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>SFIS scored the first five points of the second quarter, including a 3-pointer, to take a 22-7 lead. Robertson fought back, though, and trailed by just 10 points at halftime, 33-23, as 6-foot-5 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2216707' first='Nathan' last='Gonzales']</strong>' drained a 3-pointer late in the quarter. Robertson was held to &nbsp;26.7 shooting (8-30) in the first half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Robertson cut the deficit to nine points (35-26) early in the third quarter, but that was as close as the Cardinals would get. SFIS responded with an 11-2 run to boost the advantage to 18 points (46-28),</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Robertson again cut the deficit to 10 points (50-40) on a 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter, but SFIS again responded to the challenge with a dazzling 10-1 run to push the lead to 19 points (60-41), vanquishing all drama from the game. The stretch featured the Braves' impeccable ball movement – something they showcased for most of the game - which led to multiple uncontested layups.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Marr, a junior, finished with 18 points for Robertson, while Gonzales had 14. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2839393' first='Taivian' last='Callado']</strong> scored 16 points for SFIS as he continually attacked the rim. His brother, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2833709' first='Dontrey' last='Callado']</strong>, opened the scoring in the fourth quarter by beating his defender with a nifty behind the back dribble and layup, as the home crowd erupted.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Robertson finished the regular season at 15-11 overall, 7-3 in District 3A-2. They will play Wednesday in the district tournament. Santa Fe Indian (21-4, 8-2), which swept the season series from Robertson, will host a district tournament game on Thursday. The winner of that contest will square off with top-seed St. Michael's in the district tournament championship game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>SFIS is clearly one of an elite group of teams battling for a top four seed in the upcoming 3A state tournament. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 1: First Quarter</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/hqWgStq-dRA?si=brCMIflB3pwh9awr","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/hqWgStq-dRA?si=brCMIflB3pwh9awr </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 2: Second Quarter</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/KQSsXYK6eIc?si=j4Ki6OYbHg4U1Nso","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/KQSsXYK6eIc?si=j4Ki6OYbHg4U1Nso </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 3: Third Quarter</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/PurpuPd0VVs?si=467p8oJJ1Wo6IuvV","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/PurpuPd0VVs?si=467p8oJJ1Wo6IuvV </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>District 3A-2 Standings (After Results of Thur. Feb. 19)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":3510906,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-20-at-16-00-19-3A-District-2-District-Basketball-Standings.png"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-20-at-16-00-19-3A-District-2-District-Basketball-Standings.png?w=666" alt="" class="wp-image-3510906" /></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: MaxPreps</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image -->