March Madness: Class 5A Upper 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 upper half of the Class 5A Bracket heading into Saturday's First Round matchups:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Santa Fe (16) at Volcano Vista (1), 6 p.m.: </strong>Folks who thought four-time defending champion Volcano Vista (22-5) would take a step back after losing the three-time Gatorade Player of the Year were mistaken. Instead, the Hawks reloaded behind <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2111977' first='David' last='Lunn']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2743220' first='Finley' last='Fitak']</strong>, <strong>Luis Gonzales </strong>(30 points in district tourney title game!) and <strong>Spirit Penn-Cook</strong>. They just beat Cleveland twice in a week, the second time in the district tournament championship game, and again earned the No. 1 seed for the Class 5A tournament. Santa Fe (16-13) edged out Cibola and Eldorado for the final playoff berth. The Demons are led by 3-point sharpshooter and First-Team All-District performer <strong>Sebastian Duty</strong>. Santa Fe must bring their A-plus game to this one and hope they're within striking distance in the fourth quarter. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<strong>&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Albuquerque High (9) at Las Cruces (8), 4 p.m.: </strong>An intriguing #8 vs. #9 game. Albuquerque High won the District 5A-5 regular season and tournament titles. Six-foot-5 F/G senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2827330' first='Ethan' last='Oetzel']</strong> is one of the top players in the Albuquerque Metro Region and a next level talent. There's not much he can't do on the court. Outstanding 3-point shooter. <strong>Chris Cyphery</strong> scored 25 points in the district tourney title game win over&nbsp; Atrisco Heritage. Las Cruces probably feels a bit slighted after winning 24 games to this point and only getting a No. 8 seed. Two losses to Centennial in the last 10 days – one in OT in the district tourney title game - didn't help. The Bulldawgs are led by 6-foot-5 senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2175824' first='Ben' last='Walton']</strong>, 6-foot-4 sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2368515' first='Jayden' last='Brisby']</strong> and 6-foot-4 fantastic freshman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2967333' first='Talen' last='Miller']</strong>. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Organ Mountain (12) at Hobbs (5), 6 p.m.: </strong>Who's the highest seededteam from southern New Mexico? Hobbs. The Eagles (18-9) are No. 5 after capturing the District 5A-4 regular season and tournament titles, overcoming a mid-season stretch in which they lost seven of eight games. But the Eagles have won four in a row, getting hot at the right time. They played a very challenging non-district schedule, which undoubtedly helped boost their seeding. Juniors <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2306013' first='Malakhi' last='David']</strong> and <strong>Lyric Sorta</strong> along with senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2300005' first='Braddock' last='Beaty']</strong>, who signed to play football at NMMI, lead the Eagles. Organ Mountain (16-11) finished tied for second in District 5A-3 with Las Cruces but had to settle for a No. 12 seed. The Knights' 23-point loss to the Bulldawgs in the district tournament apparently didn't go over well with the NMAA. The trio of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2827470' first='Emmitt' last='McDaniel']</strong>, <strong>Nathaniel Peete</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2418544' first='Maximus' last='Popescu']</strong> lead Organ Mountain in scoring, combining for over 40 points per game. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Atrisco Heritage (13) at La Cueva (4), 6 p.m.: </strong>These two teams squared off in a non-district battle on Jan. 17 with La Cueva prevailing by 10 points (77-67). La Cueva (22-6) polished off the regular season and district tourney sweep on Saturday by beating Sandia in the district tourney title game. The Bears are deep, placing three players on the All District 5A-2 First-Team: <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2694512' first='Tony' last='Trujillo']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2694526' first='Hunter' last='Butler']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2085694' first='Drew' last='Bramlett']</strong>, The 6-foot-7 Butler is the heart and soul of the Bears. He's their leading scorer and rebounder by wide margins. He can score from anywhere on the court (which is why he's a next level talent and holds multiple offers) and is a beast on the boards and defensively. Defensively, La Cueva's No. 1 goal is locking down the state's top scorer – dynamic Atrisco Heritage (18-10) guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2306016' first='Rashaud' last='Morris']</strong>. He's averaging 24.2 points per game and averages almost three 3-pointers per game. Football standout <strong>Deon Session</strong> is the Jaguars' second leading scorer. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Quarterfinals Schedule (Wed., March 11 at The Pit)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Volcano Vista-Santa Fe Winner vs. Las Cruces-Albuquerque High Winner, 8:15 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hobbs-Organ Mountain Winner vs. La Cueva-Atrisco Heritage Winner, 9:45 a.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":3534097,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-02-at-19-37-39-2026-Nusenda-Credit-Union-Boys-Basketball-State-Championships-Class-5A.png"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-02-at-19-37-39-2026-Nusenda-Credit-Union-Boys-Basketball-State-Championships-Class-5A.png?w=1009" alt="" class="wp-image-3534097" /></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: MaxPreps</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">VVHS Boys Basketball seeding watch party 🏀<a href="https://twitter.com/SebastianNoel47?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SebastianNoel47</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/_NMAA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@_NMAA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ProViewTV?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ProViewTV</a> <a href="https://t.co/ecp9btWl7J">pic.twitter.com/ecp9btWl7J</a></p>&mdash; 🏀Hawk Boys Basketball🏀 (@VVHSBoysBBall) <a href="https://twitter.com/VVHSBoysBBall/status/2028252814452068838?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 1, 2026</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The boys are working hard this year!!! All district <a href="https://t.co/YJfLWrJCVu">pic.twitter.com/YJfLWrJCVu</a></p>&mdash; lchsbbasketball (@lchsbasketball5) <a href="https://twitter.com/lchsbasketball5/status/2028198780584251512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 1, 2026</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">No. 8️⃣ in the NMAA State Tournament.<br><br>Will face Albuquerque High School in the First Round in the Dawg Pound. <a href="https://t.co/ahUROEZfap">pic.twitter.com/ahUROEZfap</a></p>&mdash; Cruces Boys' Basketball (@CrucesBB) <a href="https://twitter.com/CrucesBB/status/2028280936002191562?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 2, 2026</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html -->