March Madness: Class 3A First Round Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2026 state basketball tournament gets underway on Sat., March 7 with first round action around the state. Here is a preview of the eight First Round matchups in Class 3A:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Upper Bracket</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Wingate (16) at St. Michael's (1), 4 p.m.</strong>: St. Michael's may have needed a thrilling OT win over Santa Fe Indian in the District 3A-2 Tournament Title game to secure the No. 1 seed, but, just as in football, the reality is the Horsemen have been dominant all season long. Some have favorably compared their talent to 5A schools. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2827261' first='Dillan' last='McCoy']</strong> (29 points vs. SFIS), 6-foot-4 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2706580' first='Ryan' last='Hunt']</strong>, 6-foot-4 <strong>Noah Redus</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2394870' first='Kamal' last='Stith']</strong> are all capable of leading St. Michael's in scoring on any night. Wingate (15-11) finished third in District 3A-1. <strong>Zefferino Flores</strong> is the Bears' leading scorer at about 17 points per game.       </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>NMMI (9) at Tohatchi (8), 3 p.m.</strong>: Tohatchi (23-6) will host a tournament game after finishing second in District 3A-1 behind Navajo Prep. The Cougars are looking for redemption after losing in the quarterfinals last season as the <strong>No. 3 seed. The trio of [player_tooltip player_id='2694559' first='DeAndre' last='Rios'], Myka Candeleria </strong>and<strong> Myles</strong> <strong>Candeleria </strong>combines for nearly 45 points per game. NMMI (17-9) finished second in District 3A-4 behind Tularosa. The Colts have nice size with five players standing 6-foot-3 or taller. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sandia Prep (12) at Santa Fe Indian (5), 4 p.m.</strong>: Santa Fe Indian (22-5) probably feels they drew the short stick in the seeding process. The Braves haven't lost to anybody not named St. Michael's since January 10. Had they managed to hold a late lead and beat St, Michael's in the 3A-2 tourney championship game, they would likely be a top three seed. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2833709' first='Dontrey' last='Callado']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2839393' first='Taivian' last='Callado']</strong> are one of the top brother duos in the state. Sandia Prep (13-14) finished fourth in the competitive District 3A-5. Sundevils junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2889239' first='Chase' last='Kendall']</strong> was recently named the Prep Hoops Dr. Dish Player of the Week. He scored 20 points against district champion Bosque in a recent game. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hot Springs (13) at Navajo Prep (4), 3 p.m.</strong>: Navajo Prep (23-4) saw its 16-game winning streak snapped by Tohatchi in the District 3A-1 Tournament Championship game. But the Eagles are still a fantastic basketball team capable of lifting the blue trophy at the Pit in just over a week. Career 1,000-point scorer <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2175829' first='Dylan' last='Lansing']</strong>  leads Navajo Prep in scoring. Hot Springs (16-12) must make the LONG trip from Truth or Consequences to Farmington for this first-round matchup. Football standouts <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2827399' first='Tristan' last='Polanco']</strong> and <strong>Billy Baca</strong> are two of the Tigers' top players.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":3542694,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-05-at-20-07-11-2026-Nusenda-Credit-Union-Boys-Basketball-State-Championships-Class-3A.png"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-05-at-20-07-11-2026-Nusenda-Credit-Union-Boys-Basketball-State-Championships-Class-3A.png?w=668" alt="" class="wp-image-3542694" /></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: MaxPreps</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lower Bracket</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ruidoso (14) at Cobre (3), 4 p.m.</strong>: Led by the fabulous brother duo of District 3A-3 Player of the Year <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2693613' first='Zavin' last='Guck']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2714599' first='Izon' last='Guck']</strong>, Cobre (24-3) has been one of the top teams in southern New Mexico this season. The Indians haven't lost since Dec. 27 and carry a 17-game winning streak into the state tournament. The Guck brothers combine for nearly 40 points, 17 rebounds and 7 steals per game. Ruidoso (13-14) secured a tournament berth after finishing third in District 3A-4 behind Tularosa and NMMI. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cottonwood Classical (11) at Bosque (6), 6 p.m.</strong>: District rivals clash. Several weeks ago, when East Mountain was the last unbeaten team left in New Mexico, it appeared they would cruise to the District 3A-5 title. But Bosque (17-10) was the team that eventually claimed both the regular season and district tournament prizes. Junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2309741' first='Josiah' last='Wilson']</strong> is an elite, next level caliber player. He excels at more than just scoring. He averages 17.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 3.8 steals per game. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2706574' first='Luca' last='Kalishman']</strong> (12.7 ppg) can score as well. Cottonwood Classical (17-10) finished third in District 3A-5. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Robertson (10) at East Mountain (7), 6 p.m.</strong>: Arguably the most intriguing first-round matchup in Class 3A as East Mountain (25-3) hosts the defending 3A champions. As mentioned above, East Mountain remained unbeaten until Jan. 21. The Timberwolves love to shoot 3s and utilize a motion offense to get  guards <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2216957' first='Vicente' last='Ortiz']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2834029' first='Liam' last='Pierce']</strong> good looks at the basket. This isn't the same Robertson (17-12) team that lifted the blue trophy last March, but they still have a solid core of talented players led by dynamic guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2216708' first='Michael' last='Marr']</strong> (21.0 ppg) and 6-foot-5 F/C <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2216707' first='Nathan' last='Gonzales']</strong> (17.3).         </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>West Las Vegas (15) at Tularosa (2), 6 p.m.</strong>: Tularosa (24-3) could be the ultimate ‘flying under the radar' team in New Mexico. The Wildcats' three losses are to St. Michael's, Navajo Prep and Cobre, all top four seeds in the 3A state tournament. They went unbeaten in District 3A-4 and added the district tourney title to their trophy case. Tularosa relies on a balanced scoring attack. In their last game, <strong>Eluciano Gonzales</strong> and <strong>Kameron Blazer</strong> each had 10 points while <strong>Jacoby Apachito</strong> with 9. Two other players scored 8 points. Gonzales scored 18 points in the previous game. West Las Vegas (12-16) survived the District 3A-2 grinder, so they're battle tested. The Dons will rely on <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2839464' first='Javid' last='Cordova']</strong> and <strong>Braden Chavez</strong> to score points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":3542702,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-05-at-20-10-14-2026-Nusenda-Credit-Union-Boys-Basketball-State-Championships-Class-3A.png"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-05-at-20-10-14-2026-Nusenda-Credit-Union-Boys-Basketball-State-Championships-Class-3A.png?w=668" alt="" class="wp-image-3542702" /></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: MaxPreps</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Quarterfinals Schedule (Wed., March 11 at Rio Rancho Events Center)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Michael's-Wingate Winner vs. Tohatchi-NMMI Winner, 4:45 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Santa Fe Indian-Sandia Prep Winner vs. Navajo Prep-Hot Springs Winner, 8:15 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cobre-Ruidoso Winner vs. Bosque-Cottonwood Classical Winner, 9:45 a.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>East Mountain-Robertson Winner vs. Tularosa-West Las Vegas Winner, 1:15 p.m. <strong>&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Blessed to have received District Player of the Year for the second year in a row. We held off EMHS in a close championship game to make this our 3x District Championship! State tournament up next! <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepHoops_NM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepHoops_NM</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/nmpreps?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nmpreps</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/AJBRAMLETT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AJBRAMLETT</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Coach_JNunez?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Coach_JNunez</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/coachCdavidson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@coachCdavidson</a> <a href="https://t.co/4QsYwlDlHs">pic.twitter.com/4QsYwlDlHs</a></p>&mdash; [player_tooltip player_id='2309741' first='Josiah' last='Wilson'] (@JosiahWilson54) <a href="https://twitter.com/JosiahWilson54/status/2027957408874799572?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 1, 2026</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">MUST SEE BUZZER BEATER: Robertson's [player_tooltip player_id='2216708' first='Michael' last='Marr'] scored 30 points, including the game winning basket at the buzzer to beat St. Michael's 71-69. Here is the game winning highlight (courtesy NFHS network) <a href="https://twitter.com/NFHSNetwork?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NFHSNetwork</a> <a href="https://t.co/o6fIxsHu0q">pic.twitter.com/o6fIxsHu0q</a></p>&mdash; NMAA (@_NMAA) <a href="https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/2024236875846742258?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2026</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">District MVP [player_tooltip player_id='2693613' first='Zavin' last='Guck'] <a href="https://t.co/9SPIpeOby0">pic.twitter.com/9SPIpeOby0</a></p>&mdash; CobreSports (@CobreSports) <a href="https://twitter.com/CobreSports/status/2027979288545501538?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 1, 2026</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I appreciate the mention! Got the 12 seed in State let&#039;s go boys <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepSundevils?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepSundevils</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/lemons_logan7?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@lemons_logan7</a> ! <a href="https://t.co/zVDrlIl60b">pic.twitter.com/zVDrlIl60b</a></p>&mdash; chasejkendall (@chasejkendall) <a href="https://twitter.com/chasejkendall/status/2028313477706833960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 2, 2026</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html -->