March Madness: Class 5A Lower Bracket 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 comprehensive preview of the lower half of the Class 5A Bracket heading into Saturday's First Round matchups:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mayfield (14) at Rio Rancho (3), 4 p.m.</strong>: Rio Rancho (24-5) may have finished third in District 5A-1, but that's like winning the bronze medal at the Olympics. Still pretty good. In fact, they own three victories this season over the top two seeds Volcano Vista and Cleveland. And one of their losses to the crosstown rival Storm came in double OT. The Rams' strength is their tall and talented frontline featuring <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2694572' first='Cayden' last='Richardson']</strong> (6-foot-5), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2402350' first='Kayden' last='Decker']</strong> (6-6) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2706557' first='Noah' last='Lovato']</strong> (6-5). Don't underestimate Mayfield (16-11). The Trojans competed in a district that sent FIVE teams to the state tournament, so they're battle tested. The quintet of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2827503' first='Fernando' last='Corona']</strong>, <strong>Christian Covarrubia</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2834006' first='Hector' last='Gallegos']</strong>, <strong>Corey Patterson</strong> and <strong>Homer Walsh</strong> can compete with anybody. Corona holds an offer from New Mexico Highlands. JUCO Palo Verde College in California has offered three Trojans. This one could be closer than the seeding suggests. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Farmington (11) at Sandia (6), 5 p.m.</strong>: Arguably the most intriguing first-round game in Class 5A. Sandia (20-9) is always a fun team to watch with their fast-paced, rock ‘n roll style. They love to shoot 3-pointers. Sophomore guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2714567' first='Isaiah' last='Brown']</strong>, the District 5A-2 Player of the Year, excels on both ends of the floor. He averages 15.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 6.0 steals per game. He's joined by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2714561' first='George' last='Smith']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1698809' first='Lavodrick' last='Hogues']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2980447' first='Malachi' last='Knox']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2215933' first='Mateo' last='Hogan']</strong>. Everybody has elite athleticism and is fearless shooting the basketball. The recent return of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2714580' first='Gad' last='Harris']</strong> from injury strengthens the depth. The Matadors tied with La Cueva for the District 5A-2 regular season title. Similar to Mayfield, Farmington is battle tested after competing against the top three 5A seeds in district play. As a result, the Scorpions could be better than their 18-10 record indicates. The brother duo of 6-foot-2 <strong>Zander Griego</strong> and 6-foot-4 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1717217' first='Sataurus' last='Griego']</strong> combines for 27 points and 12 rebounds per game. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Carlsbad (10) at Centennial (7), 5 p.m.</strong>: Is Centennial (20-8, 8-2) under-seeded at No. 7? The Hawks could be. Thery won District 5A-3 by a game over Organ Mountain and Las Cruces. Big fella <strong>Kouliebchen Tou</strong> (6-foot-7) averaged a double-double (20 points, 11 rebounds) and was named the District 5A-3 Player of the Year. He is surrounded by a talented group of players led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1717219' first='Tracen' last='Huntsman']</strong>, <strong>Anthony Eres</strong> and <strong>Ruiz Laborin</strong> (the QB on the Centennial football team). Carlsbad (18-9) has been flying under the radar for most of the season. They Cavemen finished second in District 5A-4 behind #5 seed Hobbs. One of their losses was to Centennial (62-45) in mid-January. So, the Cavemen will have to figure out what to do differently. They faced Hobbs three times in February, so they're used to facing elite competition. Carlsbad lost one of those games on a buzzer-beater. Senior guard <strong>Zee Huerta</strong> and senior forward <strong>Dryden Preece</strong> are two players Carlsbad will be counting on to play well in order for the Cavemen to have a chance at The Nest. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Alamogordo (15) at Cleveland (2), 5 p.m.</strong>:  Last March, Cleveland (23-6) lost in the quarterfinals of the Class 5A tournament. This year, anything less than a championship game appearance would be a disappointment. The Storm certainly possess the horses to get there, led by D1 prospect <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1326930' first='Remy' last='Albrecht']</strong>, one of the top players in the state. He recently scored 34 points against crosstown rival Rio Rancho. When you watch Cleveland play, the ball is in Albrecht's hands much of the time. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2085714' first='Ajay' last='Vigil']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2919518' first='Jordan' last='Rivera']</strong> and <strong>Brycen             Bowie</strong> are three standouts players supporting Albrecht. Alamogordo (17-11) is the fifth team from District 5A-3 to earn a tournament berth. Sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2714559' first='Jaedyn' last='Hernandez']</strong> usually leads the Tigers in scoring. But he'll need plenty of help from his teammates in order for Alamogordo to pull off the massive road upset. They battled Centennial down to the wire in the district tournament before losing by five points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Quarterfinals Schedule (Wed., March 11 at The Pit)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rio Rancho-Mayfield Winner vs. Sandia-Farmington Winner, 4:45 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Centennial-Carlsbad Winner vs. Cleveland-Alamogordo Winner, 1:15 p.m. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":3537372,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-03-at-19-10-16-2026-Nusenda-Credit-Union-Boys-Basketball-State-Championships-Class-5A.png"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-03-at-19-10-16-2026-Nusenda-Credit-Union-Boys-Basketball-State-Championships-Class-5A.png?w=683" alt="" class="wp-image-3537372" /></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: MaxPreps</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">couldn't do it without my team!! So blessed but job not finished! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/sophmore2028?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#sophmore2028</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/allforpapa?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#allforpapa</a><a href="https://twitter.com/SebastianNoel47?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SebastianNoel47</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamDiehl15?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AdamDiehl15</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepHoops_NM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepHoops_NM</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/JamesDYodice?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JamesDYodice</a> <a href="https://t.co/Grn3AAC6NT">pic.twitter.com/Grn3AAC6NT</a></p>&mdash; [player_tooltip player_id='2714567' first='Isaiah' last='Brown'] (@zay32brown) <a href="https://twitter.com/zay32brown/status/2028196822397964426?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 1, 2026</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Congratulations Kouli! <a href="https://t.co/NFlHTRUf0M">pic.twitter.com/NFlHTRUf0M</a></p>&mdash; Centennial Hawks Boys Basketball (@HawkBoysBBall) <a href="https://twitter.com/HawkBoysBBall/status/2028500890445902190?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 2, 2026</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Headed to Albuquerque for the first round of the tournament! Saturday <a href="https://twitter.com/4pm?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@4pm</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Rio?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Rio</a>. <a href="https://t.co/erg4oY7d1f">pic.twitter.com/erg4oY7d1f</a></p>&mdash; Josiah Herrera (@captainclxtch3) <a href="https://twitter.com/captainclxtch3/status/2028283250716860839?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 2, 2026</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">State time is finally here!! Our boys are back in the Thunderdome competing in the first round of the 5A state tournament! Be loud and rep your best Storm gear! <br>Go Storm!⚡️<a href="https://twitter.com/coachzcole?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@coachzcole</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/sportsprimo2?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@sportsprimo2</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepHoops_NM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepHoops_NM</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepHoops_NM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepHoops_NM</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/JamesDYodice?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JamesDYodice</a> <a href="https://t.co/6w2N5sRa9j">pic.twitter.com/6w2N5sRa9j</a></p>&mdash; Cleveland Storm Basketball⚡️ (@cleveland_bball) <a href="https://twitter.com/cleveland_bball/status/2029021852862165292?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 4, 2026</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html -->