Week Four’s Top Matchups of the Week

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Now that we're four weeks into the High School Basketball season in New Mexico, there is several teams that are starting to hit their stride before the New Year. Week Three was full of great In-Season Tournaments from around the State and this upcoming week has several more intriguing non-district matchups across New Mexico. This week's matchups will take place from Monday December 12th to Saturday December 16th.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-wide"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Tuesday December 13th, 2022:</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Las Cruces (4-2) vs Los Lunas (5-1) at 7:00pm</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two of the Top 10 teams in the 5A Class. Las Cruces won last season's previous meeting 75-44 in Los Lunas. This year's meeting will be in Las Cruces. Los Lunas is coming off their first loss of the season last time out from the hands of Atrisco Heritage in overtime. [player_tooltip player_id='1176298' first='Jalin' last='Holland'] is coming off a season high of 37 points. Las Cruces is off competing in the Belen Hub City Tournament going 2-1 this past weekend. Will [player_tooltip player_id='1176298' first='Jalin' last='Holland'] and the Tigers bounce back or will [player_tooltip player_id='1276347' first='David' last='Cruz'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1295244' first='Suge' last='Valles'] lead the Bulldawgs to another victory over Los Lunas. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Rio Grande (5-2) vs Eldorado (4-3) at 7:30pm</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Rio Grande Ravens will host the Eldorado Eagles Tuesday Night at 7:30pm. The Ravens are off to their best seven game start since the 2017-2018 season at 5-2. You have to credit to Head Coach <strong>Mario Armendariz</strong> and his Big Three; [player_tooltip player_id='1295239' first='Jonathon' last='Lukesh'], [player_tooltip player_id='1234592' first='Jonah' last='Lopez'] and <strong>Santiago Gonzales</strong> who are one of the top scoring trios in New Mexico this season accounting for 49.3 points per game. They will be competing against another high-level trio of [player_tooltip player_id='1362491' first='Caileb' last='Parham'], [player_tooltip player_id='1276346' first='Mike' last='Knaub'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1276348' first='Josh' last='Jackson']. The Eagles Big Three are one of the most dynamic front-courts in New Mexico and are as athletic as they come. This could be one of the most competitive games of this week's action. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-wide"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Friday December 16th, 2022: </em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Volcano Vista (6-0) vs Del Norte (6-1) at 7:30pm</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Undefeated Volcano Vista Hawks will host the Del Norte Knight on Friday Night. Both schools are recent State Champions in their respective classes. Volcano Vista is the reigning 5A Boys Champions from last season and the Del Norte Knights won the 4A Boys Championship two seasons ago in 2021. The Knights are coming off their first loss of the season to Organ Mountain last weekend in the Belen Hub City Tournament. The spotlight will be on Del Norte's [player_tooltip player_id='1076702' first='Shane' last='Douma-Sanchez'] who leads the State in scoring averaging 31.6 points per game this season. He's averaging a double-double with 11.6 rebounds per game which is more impressive as a guard and 6.1 assists per game. He will be going against two of the best defensive perimeter players in the State; [player_tooltip player_id='1176305' first='Hudson' last='Brown'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1679993' first='David' last='Gutierrez']. They will make it difficult for [player_tooltip player_id='1076702' first='Shane' last='Douma-Sanchez'] all night along with their interior presence of [player_tooltip player_id='1124213' first='Sean' last='Alter'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1176300' first='Kenyon' last='Aguino']. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>La Cueva (3-1) vs Atrisco Heritage (7-1) at 7:30pm</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This was a fueling rivalry last season between the La Cueva Bears and Atrisco Heritage Academy Jaguars. The two powerhouses faced off three times last season and the Bears won the season series 2-1 last year. They both reached the 5A Boys State Semifinals last season. Both teams look a bit different from last season but have returned several key players on both sides. This game will include lots of talent at the guard and wing positions. The Guards will be [player_tooltip player_id='1208049' first='Josiah' last='Guliford'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1176302' first='Cameron' last='Dyer'] from La Cueva vs [player_tooltip player_id='1176301' first='Latavious' last='Morris'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1076722' first='Chris' last='Parra'] from Atrisco Heritage. Each of these four are tough as nails and our tough matchups for anyone. The wing positions will be [player_tooltip player_id='1076711' first='Isaiah' last='Denetclaw'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1076705' first='Cedarius' last='Yates'] from La Cueva vs Lorenzo Pacheco and [player_tooltip player_id='1225905' first='Marquise' last='Renfro'] from Atrisco Heritage. These four are just as important as the guards with their versatility on both sides of the floor. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-wide"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Saturday December 16th, 2022: </em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>West Mesa (4-2) vs Del Norte (6-1) at 2:00pm</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After starting the season slow at 1-2, the West Mesa Mustangs are winners of three straight after winning the Phil Griego Tournament this past weekend hosted at V.Sue Cleveland High School. They were led by [player_tooltip player_id='1076703' first='Sonny' last='Ortiz'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1124238' first='Elijah' last='Brody'] who were there best players throughout the tournament. They also got clutch shooting from [player_tooltip player_id='1678076' first='Donovan' last='Cruz'] in key moments in that tournament. This is the West Mesa team that was advertised in the preseason. They will be given another test this Saturday going against [player_tooltip player_id='1076702' first='Shane' last='Douma-Sanchez'] and the Del Norte Knights; the states leading scorer who is averaging about 31 points per game. Will the Mustangs be the first team this season to slow down [player_tooltip player_id='1076702' first='Shane' last='Douma-Sanchez'] this season or will he continue his hot streak on the road this weekend?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Eldorado (4-3) vs Valley (5-2) at 2:00pm</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This matchup is between two teams that are complete opposites from one another. The Eldorado Eagles are the bigger and more physical team and the Valley Vikings are the smaller and better three-point shooting team. Eldorado has a number of players like [player_tooltip player_id='1362491' first='Caileb' last='Parham'], [player_tooltip player_id='1276346' first='Mike' last='Knaub'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1276348' first='Josh' last='Jackson'] who are all exceptional around the rim. They each are athletic around the basket and can finish possessions with second chance opportunities with their offensive rebounding. The Valley Vikings are the better three-point shooting team with players like [player_tooltip player_id='1680001' first='Julian' last='Chavez'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1680000' first='Tyler' last='Kozlowski']. When those two getting going on offense, expect the Valley Vikings to keep running plays for them throughout the game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Volcano Vista (6-0) vs Carlsbad (4-5) at 2:00pm</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The matchup between the Volcano Vista Hawks and the Carlsbad Cavemen this Saturday afternoon will be a rematch of last years second round playoff matchup that Volcano Vista won 69-29. Both teams have started this years campaign differently. The Hawks come in undefeated at (6-0) and the Cavemen at (4-5). The Hawks have looked dominant through six games after winning last years 5A Boys State Title whereas the Cavemen might be better than what their record suggests through nine games. The Cavemen have lost four of their five games this season by two points or less which includes two heartbreaking overtime losses to Las Cruces and West Mesa. This matchup will be all about [player_tooltip player_id='1500488' first='Damian' last='Perez'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1176300' first='Kenyon' last='Aguino']; arguably two of the top five players in New Mexico. [player_tooltip player_id='1500488' first='Damian' last='Perez'] is a big scoring guard that can create his own shot off the dribble and catch whereas [player_tooltip player_id='1176300' first='Kenyon' last='Aguino'] is the most fundamentally talented forward at his position with his elite footwork. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Albuquerque Academy (6-1) vs Sandia (4-1) at 2:00pm</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This Saturday Afternoon showdown between Albuquerque Academy and Sandia will be a battle between two of the states best teams in 4A and 5A. It will be a battle of the Big Three's for each team. For the Matadors it will be [player_tooltip player_id='1360191' first='Andrew' last='Hill'], [player_tooltip player_id='1076710' first='Dalen' last='Moyer'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1076706' first='Ely' last='Lovato'] vs [player_tooltip player_id='1208052' first='Kellan' last='Gehres'], [player_tooltip player_id='1685484' first='Joe' last='Jack'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1254049' first='Justin' last='Mask'] for the Chargers. This game will have a nice pace for both teams where each can run up and down the floor. Their can also be a lot of outside shooting in this game that can make it a high scoring afternoon of basketball. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-wide"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" /> <!-- /wp:separator -->