Tuesday’s Top Performers: ABQ Metro Tourney and More

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2025 Albuquerque Metro Tournament got underway Tuesday night at four locations around the Duke City, along with numerous other games throughout the state. Here are some of Tuesday's standouts:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1176300' first='Kenyon' last='Aguino'], Volcano Vista</strong>: The Montana commitment and two-time NM Gatorade Player of the Year scored 30 points to spark Volcano Vista's come-from-behind win over Hobbs in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 battle in the first round of the ABQ Metro Championships. The Hawks trailed by 13 points early in the 3^rd quarter before rallying.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1326930' first='Remy' last='Albrecht'], Cleveland</strong>: Our No. 1 prospect in the 2026 class scored 27 points to lead Cleveland past Highland, who are awaiting the season debut of 3-point ace [player_tooltip player_id='1687821' first='Jesus' last='Licon']. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2694437' first='Cayleb' last='Blea'], ATATC</strong>: Blea scored 13 point to lead 3A Academy of the Classics and Technology over Monte Del Sol in Santa Fe.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2714567' first='Isaiah' last='Brown'], Sandia</strong>: The Matadors used balanced scoring to rout Rio Grande. Brown scored a team-high 15 points, connected on &nbsp;a trio of 3-pointers, grabbed 7 rebounds, dished out 4 assists and stole the ball 4 times.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2694526' first='Hunter' last='Butler'], La Cueva</strong>: The Bears are rebuilding but they're also winning. Butler scored 14 points to lead La Cueva past Albuquerque High in a low-scoring contest.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1488590' first='Gavin' last='Gomez'], Del Norte</strong>: Scored 20 points, 18 on 6 3-pointers, in Del Norte's close loss to Atrisco Heritage. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1488493' first='Rian' last='Gonzales'], Volcano Vista</strong>: Drained two crucial 3-pointers in the second half to fuel Volcano Vista's comeback win over Hobbs. His second jumpstarted a late game 6-0 run that lifted the Hawks to the victory.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2714559' first='Jaedyn' last='Hernandez'], Alamogordo</strong>: The freshman scored 11 points to help lead Alamogordo past Deming. <strong>Marcus Bryant Jr.</strong> also scored 11 points for the Tigers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1276352' first='Mason' last='Howell'], Sandia</strong>: Howell dominated the paint Tuesday night as he grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked 7 shots in Sandia's big win over Rio Grande. Howell also scored 6 points. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Psalmon Kegler</strong>: A standout defensive end for Cleveland's championship winning football team, Kegler is also pretty good at hoops. He registered a double-double (10 points + 10 rebounds) in Cleveland's win over Highland.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2693635' first='Juan' last='Limas'], Highland</strong>: Scored 27 points, more than half of his team's total, and grabbed 6 rebounds in Highland's loss to Cleveland. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2706557' first='Noah' last='Lovato'], Rio Rancho</strong>: Lovato scored 21 points to lead four Rams in double figures as they trounced host Eldorado.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2026077' first='Elijah' last='Martinez'], Cibola</strong>: The Cougars continued their revival with an impressive victory over Valley. Martinez, a sophomore, scored 19 points to lead Cibola, while [player_tooltip player_id='2147587' first='Isaiah' last='Weinrich'] scored 16. Cibola is 7-2 and already has more wins than they did all of last season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1540114' first='Carter' last='Monroe'], Valley</strong>: Combined with senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2677085' first='Angelito' last='Villa']</strong> for 25 points and 17 rebounds in Valley's loss to red hot Cibola. Monroe had 13 points and 8 rebounds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2292960' first='Zaire' last='Ndyabagye'], Sandia</strong>: Scored 11 points and grabbed 6 rebounds along with 4 assists and 4 steals in Sandia's convincing win over Rio Grande.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2684180' first='Ethan' last='Pack'], Organ Mountain</strong>: Scored 14 points as Organ Mountain snapped a two-game losing streak with a comfortable win over Los Lunas. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2833981' first='Deon' last='Sessions'], Atrisco Heritage</strong>: His tie-breaking 3-point play with less than 10 seconds left propelled Atrisco Heritage to a close win over Del Norte on the Knights' home floor. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2684845' first='Chase' last='Walton'], Raton</strong>: Scored 13 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked 6 shots in Raton's loss to Cimarron Tuesday night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="es" dir="ltr">Tues. 1/7 Scoreboard: ABQ Metro Championship<br><br>Volcano Vista 62, Hobbs 55<br>Cleveland 72, Highland 50<br>Hope Christian 59, West Mesa 56<br>La Cueva 35, Albuquerque High 33<br>Sandia 79, Rio Grande 42<br>Atrisco Heritage 61, Del Norte 58<br>Cibola 67, Valley 49<br>Rio Rancho 89, Eldorado 59 <a href="https://t.co/9KBKIOiav3">pic.twitter.com/9KBKIOiav3</a></p>&mdash; Prep Hoops New Mexico (@PrepHoops_NM) <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepHoops_NM/status/1877047398163210748?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">BOYS BASKETBALL: Volcano Vista came from behind to erase a double digit deficit in the 2nd half and beat Hobbs 62-55 in a &quot;state tournament-like&quot; matchup in the 1st round of the Albuquerque Metro Championships. Here are some of the highlights. <a href="https://twitter.com/VVHSBoysBBall?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VVHSBoysBBall</a> <a href="https://t.co/6asMh8UDz9">pic.twitter.com/6asMh8UDz9</a></p>&mdash; NMAA (@_NMAA) <a href="https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1876813911720141201?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">BOYS BASKETBALL: Cleveland beat Highland 72-50 on Tuesday night in the 1st round of the Albuquerque Metro Championships. The Storm will play La Cueva Wednesday night at 7pm at Albuquerque High. Here are some of the highlights (courtesy KRQE) <a href="https://twitter.com/cleveland_bball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@cleveland_bball</a> <a href="https://t.co/8zfd7iOKiw">pic.twitter.com/8zfd7iOKiw</a></p>&mdash; NMAA (@_NMAA) <a href="https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1876995214130204726?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html -->