March Madness: Class 4A 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 4A:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Upper Bracket</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Grants (16) at Highland (1), 6 p.m.</strong>: Highland (23-4) has appeared in three of the last four Class 4A state championship games and this Hornets team looks equipped to get there again. Highland carries a 16-game winning streak into the state tournament and haven't lost since Jan. 10. They have three players averaging in double figures led by <strong>Nico Sanchez</strong> (19.9 ppg), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2693635' first='Juan' last='Limas']</strong> (13.7) and <strong>Fede Nunez</strong> (10.1), while 6-foot-9 junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2402829' first='Jerry' last='Moody']</strong> averages close to a double-double in points and rebounds. Grants (11-16) is led by junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2959204' first='Elijah' last='Marquez']</strong>. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Portales (9) at Belen (8), 5 p.m.</strong>: Belen (18-11) finished second in District 4A-5 behind Highland and reached the district tournament championship game. The Eagles feature a balanced scoring attack led by <strong>Pablo Aguilar</strong>, <strong>Sammy Sanchez</strong> and <strong>Daniel Aguilar</strong>. Portales (14-13) finished second in District 4A-4 behind Artesia. Six-foot-7 junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2832949' first='Pierce' last='Culpepper']</strong> (16.0 ppg) and sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2887500' first='Aiden' last='Mestas']</strong> (13.5) combine for nearly 30 points and over 14 rebounds per game for the Rams. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>St. Pius X (12) at Taos (5), 6 p.m.</strong>: Few teams in the state have more wins than underrated (underseeded?) Taos (23-5). The Tigers won the regular season and district tourney titles in 4A-2. They've lost once since Jan. 15. Senior <strong>Malakhi Ely</strong> averages about a double-double in points and rebounds. St. Pius X (11-15) was the No. 1 seed for last year's 4A state tournament but lost in the quarterfinals. If they want to go farther this year, they must pull off the upset on Taos' home floor. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Valencia (13) at Del Norte (4), 7 p.m.</strong>: The month of February for Del Norte (18-10) was marked by a back-and-forth battle with District 4A-6 rival Hope Christian. The two teams squared off four times, including three clashes in a nine-day span. Hope Christian won the last meeting in the district tournament championship game, which is why the Huskies are seeded one spot higher than the Knights. The trio of SG <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1717253' first='Francois' last='Satchivi']</strong> (19.7 ppg), F <strong>Mumin Omer</strong> (10.) and PG <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2215899' first='Pedro' last='Padron']</strong> has propelled Del Norte all season long. Valencia (15-13) has lost seven of its last nine games but managed to secure an at-large berth. Senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1717301' first='Jared' last='Porter']</strong> and junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2283972' first='Carin' last='Bustillos']</strong> are the primary point producers for the Jaguars. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":3540444,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-04-at-19-12-17-2026-Nusenda-Credit-Union-Boys-Basketball-State-Championships-Class-4A.png"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-04-at-19-12-17-2026-Nusenda-Credit-Union-Boys-Basketball-State-Championships-Class-4A.png?w=672" alt="" class="wp-image-3540444" /></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>Pojoaque Valley (14) at Hope Christian (3), 6 p.m.</strong>: Hope Christian (21-8) opened the 2025-26 schedule with a victory over Albuquerque High and a narrow loss in a back-and-forth high scoring duel with Sandia. Both are solid 5A schools. The Huskies have hardly slowed down since then. They beat Del Norte in the District 4A-6 tournament title game to earn the No. 3 seed. Pojoaque Valley (14-14) finished second in District 4A-2 behind Taos. The Elks started slow but played well in February. Seniors <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1717248' first='Joziah' last='Salazar']</strong> and 6-foot-5 &nbsp;<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1534007' first='Serafin' last='Mendez'] </strong>headlinethe Elks. Mendez missed the first half of the season before debuting in mid-January. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Goddard (11) at Albuquerque Academy (6), 5 p.m.</strong>: It's been a rollercoaster season filled with highs and lows for Albuquerque Academy. The Chargers ended up finishing third in District 4A-6 behind Del Norte and Hope Christian. They have some nice players in D1 prospect <strong>Zac Borrego</strong> and 6-foot-10 senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1717250' first='Hunter' last='Aime']</strong>. Do they have enough to make a deep run in the tournament? Goddard (12-15) reached the District 4A-4 tourney championship game but lost to Artesia. Several of their setbacks are to 5A schools. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Silver (10) at Gallup (7), 5 p.m.</strong>: If there's a dark-horse candidate for a deep run in the 4A Tourney, Gallup (21-7) is the team. The Bengals have enjoyed a tremendous season and enter the tournament on a nine-game winning streak. Seniors <strong>Jayson Bruner</strong>, also a talented WR on the football team, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1717295' first='Joshua' last='Keeto']</strong> are the offensive sparkplugs. Silver (16-11) won the District 4A-3 regular season and tournament titles but was relegated to a No. 10 seed. One of the Colts' best players is dynamic freshman <strong>Elias Sedillo</strong>.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Bloomfield (15) at Artesia (2), 6 p.m.</strong>: Artesia (22-25) returned its entire roster from last season's 4A state champion team, so the Bulldogs came into this campaign as heavy favorites to repeat. So far, they've lived up to the hype.  Leading scorers <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1846065' first='Charlie' last='Campbell']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1717327' first='Braylon' last='Vega']</strong> headline a senior-dominated and experienced team. Since most of the players are also on the football team, they know how to win. Bloomfield (15-12) will certainly have their hands full trying to dethrone the defending champions at the Bulldog Pit. The Bobcats will need big games from leading scorers <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2706546' first='Elijah' last='Cooks']</strong> and <strong>Kaydin Nelson</strong> with plenty of support from their role players.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":3540448,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-04-at-19-14-58-2026-Nusenda-Credit-Union-Boys-Basketball-State-Championships-Class-4A.png"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-04-at-19-14-58-2026-Nusenda-Credit-Union-Boys-Basketball-State-Championships-Class-4A.png?w=673" alt="" class="wp-image-3540448" /></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: MaxPreps</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Quarterfinals Schedule (Wed., March 11 at The Pit)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Highland-Grants Winner vs. Belen-Portales Winner, 8 a.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Taos-St. Pius X Winner vs. Del Norte-Valencia Winner, 3 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hope Christian-Pojoaque Valley Winner vs. Albuquerque Academy-Goddard Winner, 11:30 a.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gallup-Silver Winner vs. Artesia-Bloomfield Winner, 6:30 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Highland Hornets earned the #1 seed in the Boys Class 4A bracket of the 2026 Nusenda Credit Union State Basketball Championships <a href="https://twitter.com/nusendacu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nusendacu</a> Highland has played in the final each of the last two years and won it all in 2024. <a href="https://t.co/wWVYnIh2cq">pic.twitter.com/wWVYnIh2cq</a></p>&mdash; NMAA (@_NMAA) <a href="https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/2028256047765524769?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 1, 2026</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="sv" dir="ltr">[player_tooltip player_id='1717301' first='Jared' last='Porter'] 2026 <a href="https://t.co/Pr4bod0nrD">https://t.co/Pr4bod0nrD</a> <a href="https://t.co/q0RMCna803">pic.twitter.com/q0RMCna803</a></p>&mdash; Valencia Jaguar Boys Basketball (@VHSJagHoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/VHSJagHoops/status/2027475740292444500?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 27, 2026</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The 2025-26 Bulldog basketball team poses for a photo with its District 4-AAAA Tournament championship trophy.<br><br>📸Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints <a href="https://t.co/RG5airdI1z">pic.twitter.com/RG5airdI1z</a></p>&mdash; 🏀 Brienne Green 🐾 (@ArtesiaSports) <a href="https://twitter.com/ArtesiaSports/status/2027595354963873918?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2026</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html -->