Video/Recap: Sandia, La Cueva Battle For 5A-2 Tourney Crown

ALBUQUERQUE – Barring a major surprise on Sunday when the brackets are revealed, the top three seeds for the upcoming Class 5A state tournament will be – in alphabetical order – Cleveland, Rio Rancho and Volcano Vista.   Who will be the No. 4 seed? Good question.   La Cueva made their closing argument Saturday afternoon by beating Sandia, 63-50, in the District 5A-2 Tournament championship game at LCHS gym. Meanwhile, 200 miles to the south, Centennial outlasted Las Cruces, 48-46, in overtime at The Nest in the District 5A-3 Tournament title game.   Showcasing his ability to score anywhere on the floor, 6-foot-7 senior [player_tooltip player_id='2694526' first='Hunter' last='Butler'] led the Bears to its third win in four matchups against Sandia this season. A next level talent, Butler dominated the inside with putbacks, layups and dunks, hit mid-range jumpers and on multiple occasions, stepped back and smoothly drained 3-pointers.   Three-pointers by [player_tooltip player_id='2714567' first='Isaiah' last='Brown'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1698809' first='Lavodrick' last='Hogues'] gave Sandia an early 6-0 lead before La Cueva seized control with an 11-0 run capped by CJ Johnson's triple. The Bears led, 18-14, after the first quarter.   Consecutive 3-pointers by Hogues knotted the score at 20-20 early in the second quarter, but La Cueva responded with a 9-0 run to take command. Butler's dunk ignited the surge, which was capped by Johnson's corner 3-pointer.   La Cueva never trailed the rest of the way.   Sandia cut the deficit to five (31-26) with a 6-2 run featuring [player_tooltip player_id='2714580' first='Gad' last='Harris']' driving layup that stopped the 9-0 run and Brown's floater in the lane. A free throw allowed La Cueva to take a 32-26 lead into intermission.   La Cueva scored the first four points of the third quarter to take a double digit lead for the first time at 36-36. Butler's first triple of the game gave the Bears a 41-30 lead midway through the frame.   Sandia managed to cut the deficit to nine on a couple of occasions (43-34; 45-36), but La Cueva closed out the third quarter with an 8-2 run to take a commanding 53-38 lead, its largest of the game, into the fourth. Butler's nifty baseline drive and [player_tooltip player_id='2822061' first='Payton' last='Fuller']'s crowd-pleasing dunk on a drive down the lane had the Bears crowd on its feet.   Sandia's comeback chances diminished when Harris fouled out with 6-1/2 minutes left. The Matadors pulled within 10 points on a couple of occasions but Butler's dunk and two free throws made it 59-45 with 3:04 left.   If the outcome wasn't decided at that point, it certainly was when [player_tooltip player_id='2694512' first='Tony' last='Trujillo'] scored on a layup out of the Four Corners offense. Sandia's [player_tooltip player_id='2980447' first='Malachi' last='Knox'] knocked down a 3-pointer in the final minute, but it was too little, too late for the Matadors.   The NMAA will announce the brackets for the 2026 state tournament Sunday at 4:30 p.m.          2025-26 DISTRICT 5A-2 FIRST TEAM   Charlie Will – Eldorado   [player_tooltip player_id='2694512' first='Tony' last='Trujillo'] – La Cueva   [player_tooltip player_id='2694526' first='Hunter' last='Butler'] – La Cueva   [player_tooltip player_id='2085694' first='Drew' last='Bramlett'] – La Cueva   [player_tooltip player_id='2714567' first='Isaiah' last='Brown'] – Sandia   Sebastian Duty – Santa Fe   PLAYER OF THE YEAR: [player_tooltip player_id='2714567' first='Isaiah' last='Brown'], Sandia   SATURDAY 2/28 SCOREBOARD (District Tourney Championship Games)   Class 5A   Volcano Vista 71, Cleveland 67   La Cueva 63, Sandia 50   Centennial 48, Las Cruces 46   Albuquerque High 67, Atrisco Heritage 53   Hobbs 48, Carlsbad 43   Class 4A   Highland 87, Belen 62   Hope Christian 54, Del Norte 50   Silver 55, Santa Teresa 40   Gallup 62, Shiprock 53   Taos 58, Pojoaque Valley 50   Class 3A   Bosque 55, East Mountain 52   Tohatchi 53, Navajo Prep 38   Tularosa 49, NMMI 42   St. Michael's 68, Santa Fe Indian 66   Class 2A   Texico 63, Eunice 23   Mesilla Valley Christian 75, Mescalero Apache 30   Rehoboth Christian 60, Hozho Academy 44   Mesa Vista 59, Escalante 50   Peco 63, Santa Rosa 50   Menaul 55, Oak Grove Classical 42   Class 1A   Logan 80, Fort Sumner/House 77   Alamo Navajo 62, Mountainair 61   Cimarron 70, Springer 53   Melrose 74, Elida 49   Magdalena 34, Cliff 21   LA CUEVA-SANDIA VIDEO   Video 1: First Quarter   <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/PK7k-Mf7-m8?si=Pf5RnDSNtitnS1go </div></figure>   Video 2: Second Quarter   <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/9pqi3vSNh0g?si=wfWVAXFyG5D0t4Qd </div></figure>   Video 3: Third Quarter   <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/C18KKeaU5Vw?si=Lm-kYiK-I54qJ7Rn </div></figure>   Video 4: Final Four Minutes   <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/3h7bDa4XmTM?si=1ePrEbp7wWb0xRxb </div></figure>

ALBUQUERQUE – Barring a major surprise on Sunday when the brackets are revealed, the top three seeds for the upcoming Class 5A state tournament will be – in alphabetical order – Cleveland, Rio Rancho and Volcano Vista.