Class 5A Semifinals: Game Recaps and Top Performers
In this article:
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<p><strong>VOLCANO VISTA 49, LA CUEVA 42</strong></p>
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<p><strong>How it happened</strong>: The two teams battled on even terms through the first 5 minutes as the score was tied 10-10 early. A 3-pointer and 2 free throws by Volcano Vista G <strong>Luis Gonzales</strong> gave the Hawks a 15-12 lead. La Cueva scored late as the Hawks took a slim 15-14 lead after eight minutes. Gonzales scored nine points in the first quarter, going 3-of-3 from the field. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2694526' first='Hunter' last='Butler']</strong> scored 6 points for La Cueva in the opening frame.</p>
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<p>Points were hard to come by early in the second quarter as every shot was fiercely contested. Butler's layup tied the score at 17-17 midway through the frame. [player_tooltip player_id='2743220' first='Finley' last='Fitak']'s 3-pointer coming out of a timeout snapped the tie and gave the Hawks a 20-17 lead. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2111977' first='David' last='Lunn']</strong>'s breakaway dunk pushed the lead to five at 22-17. Gonzales' jumper gave the Hawks seven straight points and a 24-17 lead. Butler ended La Cueva's long dry spell with a mid-range jumper from the corner for the final points by either team. Volcano Vista led, 24-19 at intermission.</p>
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<p>After shooting 40 percent (8-20) in the first half, La Cueva found its shooting eye in the first two minutes of the third quarter, cutting the deficit to two at 26-24. But Volcano Vista picked up the defensive intensity, keying a 6-0 run for the Hawks that gave them a 32-24 lead and forced La Cueva to call timeout with 2:35 left in the 3Q. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2085694' first='Drew' last='Bramlett']</strong> snapped the run with a 3-pointer from the top of the circle, but Lunn quickly responded with a conventional 3-point play to make it 35-27. Lunn's driving layup gave the Hawks a double-digit lead for the first time at 37-27. After two free throws by the Hawks, Lunn stole the ball on the ensuing inbounds pass and hit the first of two free throws to lift Volcano Vista into a 40-30 lead after three quarters.</p>
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<p>With Volcano Vista eight minutes away from their fifth consecutive appearance in the Class 5A title game, La Cueva was determined to rally. Butler's dunk with 6:49 left narrowed the deficit to 40-33. Volcano Vista called timeout. Defensive stops by both teams heading into another timeout with 6:11 left. Lunn scored Volcano Vista's first points of the fourth quarter on two FTs with 5:00 left. Butler's reverse layup cut the lead to 42-35 with 4 minutes left.</p>
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<p>Rugged defense marked the next two minutes. Volcano Vista led, 44-36, with two minutes left. La Cueva stole the ball and raced in for a layup to cut the Hawk's lead to 44-38 with 1:40 left. Lunn made 1 of 2 FT with 1:38 left to give Volcano Vista a 45-38 lead. Lunn again made 1 of 2 FT with 1:10 left. La Cueva raced down the floor and quickly called timeout after a basket made it 46-40 with exactly 1 minute left. After a Hawks FT and La Cueva basket, Volcano Vista led, 47-42, with 30.4 seconds left. All nine of Volcano Vista's fourth quarter points came from the free throw line. </p>
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<p><strong>Standout Performers</strong></p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2111977' first='David' last='Lunn'], Volcano Vista</strong>: Led all scorers with 24 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Half his points came from the FT line (12-17). He added 5 rebounds and 3 steals.</p>
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<p><strong>Luis Gonzales, Volcano Vista</strong>: Scored 16 points and made 5-of-6 FT for the Hawks.</p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2694526' first='Hunter' last='Butler'], La Cueva</strong>: Led La Cueva with 17 points and 8 rebounds.</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Volcano Vista beat La Cueva 49-42 to advance to the Boys Class 5A final at the 2026 Nusenda Credit Union State Basketball Championships <a href="https://twitter.com/nusendacu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nusendacu</a> Here are some of the highlights. <a href="https://t.co/4hzQTfefjW">pic.twitter.com/4hzQTfefjW</a></p>— NMAA (@_NMAA) <a href="https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/2032257573962072375?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2026</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Volcano Vista head coach Greg Brown following their semifinal win at the 2026 Nusenda Credit Union State Basketball Championships <a href="https://twitter.com/nusendacu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nusendacu</a> <a href="https://t.co/8EsFxgiH99">pic.twitter.com/8EsFxgiH99</a></p>— NMAA (@_NMAA) <a href="https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/2032279443771891904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2026</a></blockquote>
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<p><strong>CLEVELAND 66, SANDIA 60 (OT)</strong></p>
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<p><strong>How it happened:</strong> Despite playing the entire second half without arguably its best player – District 5A-2 Player of the Year <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2714567' first='Isaiah' last='Brown']</strong> - Sandia took No. 2 seed Cleveland to overtime before falling, 66-60. It's the second straight year the Matadors have been eliminated from the state tournament with an OT loss. They fell to Volcano Vista in last year's 5A championship game in OT. Six-foot-4 sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2919518' first='Jordan' last='Rivera']</strong> made three 3-pointers and scored 12 points in the first half to lead the Storm to a 35-28 halftime advantage. As expected, the two teams came out firing from long-range, combining for 31 3-point attempts in the first half, connecting on 12. Overall, the two teams combined for a staggering 57 3-point attempts in the game. Cleveland scored the final 11 points of the first quarter to take a 16-10 lead after the opening 8 minutes.</p>
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<p>The third quarter belonged to Sandia guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2714580' first='Gad' last='Harris']</strong>, who missed most of the regular season due to a football-related injury. Stepping up in the absence of Brown, Harris erupted for four 3-pointers in the third quarter, including a 25-footer off the glass at the buzzer to give Sandia a 49-47 lead going into the fourth quarter. After allowing 21 third-quarter points, the Cleveland clamped down in the fourth, holding Sandia to just 8 points. Sandia led, 57-55, when the turned the ball over. Cleveland G <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1326930' first='Remy' last='Albrecht']</strong> drove the lane and passed the ball to a wide open <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2882843' first='Noah' last='Valler']</strong>, who hit the layup to tie the score at 57-57 with 1:15 left. Sandia called timeout and held for the final shot.</p>
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<p>But the Matadors were whistled for a 5-second violation, giving the ball to Cleveland with 10.6 seconds left. However, Sandia had fouls to give, and did just that. Cleveland attempted a 3-pointer but the shot missed and went out of bounds, giving the ball to Sandia with 2.1 seconds left. But all Sandia could manage was a half-court heave that hit the backboard. Cleveland scored the first six points of overtime and led, 63-57, with 34 seconds left. The Storm held on from there to claim a spot in the 5A championship game opposite Volcano Vista. </p>
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<p><strong>Standout Performers:</strong></p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2919518' first='Jordan' last='Rivera'], Cleveland</strong>: Scored a team high 19 points with four 3-pointers and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Strom over Sandia.</p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1326930' first='Remy' last='Albrecht'], Cleveland</strong>: Scored just 9 points and shot 2-for-10 from the field, but also had 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals and drew 7 fouls from the Matadors.</p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2714580' first='Gad' last='Harris'], Sandia</strong>: Back in January, we didn't know if Harris would even play this season, but he returned with a vengeance. Led all scorers with 29 points and connected on SIX 3-pointers as he made up for the absence of [player_tooltip player_id='2714567' first='Isaiah' last='Brown'] in a big way. </p>
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<p><strong>CLASS 5A CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (Sat. March 14 at The Pit)</strong></p>
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<p>Cleveland vs. Volcano Vista, 8 p.m.</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Cleveland beat Sandia 66-60 in OT to advance to the Class 5A Boys Final against Volcano Vista at the Nusenda Credit Union State Basketball Championships <a href="https://twitter.com/nusendacu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nusendacu</a> Here are some of the highlights <a href="https://t.co/nXxNZpKuSc">pic.twitter.com/nXxNZpKuSc</a></p>— NMAA (@_NMAA) <a href="https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/2032311800679600273?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2026</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Cleveland head coach Zack Cole following their semifinal overtime win at the 2026 Nusenda Credit Union State Basketball Championships <a href="https://twitter.com/nusendacu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nusendacu</a> <a href="https://t.co/wXL09GrTmF">pic.twitter.com/wXL09GrTmF</a></p>— NMAA (@_NMAA) <a href="https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/2032310052317774334?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2026</a></blockquote>
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VOLCANO VISTA 49, LA CUEVA 42
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