Video/Recap: Rio Rancho Staves Off Mayfield In Hard Fought Battle

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>RIO RANCHO –</strong> Mayfield almost pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the first round of the 2026 boys state basketball tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A valiant effort from the No. 14 seeded Trojans fell just short against No. 3 Rio Rancho in front of an enthusiastic crowd Saturday afternoon at the Rams gym, 66-61. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was a one-score game with less than one minute remaining but Mayfield couldn't muster the game-tying basket. In fact, by virtue of a spirited 8-0 run, the Trojans trailed by only one point at 58-57 in the final minutes of the contest.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But Rio Rancho staved off Mayfield. A basket by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2402350' first='Kayden' last='Decker']</strong> gave the Rams a 60-57 lead with 2:11 left. An exchange of offensive fouls followed by an exchange of baskets made it 62-59 with 25.4 seconds left.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two free throws by Rio Rancho's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2694572' first='Cayden' last='Richardson']</strong> brought the lead back to five (64-59) before Mayfield's stellar guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2827503' first='Fernando' last='Corona']</strong> hit a driving layup with 16.6 seconds remaining. But a foul on the ensuing inbounds pass and two free throws by Richardson with 15.3 seconds left sealed the win for the Rams, and punched their ticket to the Pit for Wednesday's 4:45 p.m. quarterfinal clash against No. 6 seed Sandia.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Matadors defeated No. 11 seed Farmington, 77-56. Across town from Rio Rancho's gym, Cleveland trounced Alamogordo, 86-51, behind a superb display of 3-point shooting. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was Rio Rancho's own pinpoint long-range shooting that sparked a second-quarter rally from a 10-point deficit (18-8) at the end of the first quarter. The Rams trailed, 18-4, at one point late in the first quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But the Rams fought back with SIX 3-pointers in the second quarter to take a 32-30 halftime lead. Rio Rancho outscored Mayfield, 24-12, in the second quarter. The triples rained down early and often as the Rams hit three 3-pointers in the first 3 minutes of the frame to slice the deficit to 25-17.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Decker's triple with just over two minutes left in the second quarter tied the score for the first time at 30-30. Decker's pair of free throws with 39.5 seconds left gave the Rams the two-point halftime edge.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The contest remained close well into the third quarter when consecutive baskets by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2694572' first='Cayden' last='Richardson']</strong> gave Rio Rancho its biggest lead of the game at 46-37 with 2:37 left. The Rams eventually settled for a 51-45 advantage after three quarters.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2695232' first='Jordan' last='McNeely']</strong>'s 3-pointer and driving layup through the lane gave Rio Rancho a 10-point lead at 56-46 early in the fourth quarter. But an 11-2 Mayfield run keyed by Corona's 3-pointer narrowed the game to 58-57 with less than three minutes left.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But that was as close as Mayfield would get in the tension-filled final minutes of the hard-fought contest. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>CLASS 5A FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD (March 7)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Volcano Vista 64, Santa Fe 37</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Las Cruces 61, Albuquerque High 45</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hobbs 81, Organ Mountain 62</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>La Cueva 77, Atrisco Heritage 47</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rio Rancho 66, Mayfield 61</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sandia 77, Farmington 56</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Carlsbad 52, Centennial 47</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cleveland 86, Alamogordo 51&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>MAYFIELD-RIO RANCHO VIDEO</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 1: First Quarter</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/I6Fh0NPipsI?si=QY4gc99MbgVQMLS3","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/I6Fh0NPipsI?si=QY4gc99MbgVQMLS3 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 2: Second Quarter</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/MPHqmcc9Tb8?si=WWQQpVYs_hvZSgn_","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/MPHqmcc9Tb8?si=WWQQpVYs_hvZSgn_ </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>VIDEO 3: Third Quarter</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/47M0VXKAXLA?si=5KlnP19HxoOhi5po","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/47M0VXKAXLA?si=5KlnP19HxoOhi5po </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>VIDEO 4: Final Four Minutes</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://youtu.be/aPl25eVzJ64?si=y1mb-B7E2m_b8X-8","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/aPl25eVzJ64?si=y1mb-B7E2m_b8X-8 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->