Where Things Stand: Class 5A

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In less than a month, the 2025 New Mexico boys basketball playoffs will begin with first-round matchups at various home sites. The quarterfinals will be played Wednesday, March 12 at the Pit In Albuquerque (Class 5A and 4A), Rio Rancho Events Center (Class 3A and 2A) and Bernalillo High School (Class 1A). Here's how Class 5A looks right now in mid-February.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>CLASS 5A</strong>: Volcano Vista, Hobbs and Sandia have been the ‘Big Three' in the rankings for most of the season. Volcano Vista has been downright dominant, discarding most foes with ease. Since returning from a national tournament in Arizona in early January, the Hawks have won 12 straight games. They've been tested a few times, particularly during the Metro Tournament, but the last 8 wins have all been routs. Going into Wednesday night's game at Rio Rancho, the Hawks are 20-2 overall and appear headed towards another District 5A-1 title. The only team with a realistic chance to catch them is Cleveland (16-6, 5-1). Those teams battle again Feb. 19. Volcano Vista is led by the dynamic duo of senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1176300' first='Kenyon' last='Aguino']</strong> and sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2111977' first='David' last='Lunn']</strong>, but senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1488493' first='Rian' last='Gonzales']</strong> served notice last week when he scored 62 points and established a new state record with 17 3-pointers against Piedra Vista that he's ready to make it a Terrific Trio. District 5A-1 should be well represented in the state tournament with at least four and possibly five teams likely getting into the 16-team field: Volcano Vista, Cleveland, Cibola and Farmington look like sure things right now. . .Sandia (19-3) and Santa Fe (16-6) are tied atop the District 5A-2 standings with identical 5-1 district marks. They clashed last week with Sandia prevailing, 83-60. They'll meet again Feb. 21 with the district title possibly on the line. Sandia features one of the most explosive (and balanced) offensive attacks in the state led by freshman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2714567' first='Isaiah' last='Brown']</strong> (15.3 ppg), senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1687823' first='Thomas' last='Adams']</strong> (13.5), senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2292960' first='Zaire' last='Ndyabagye']</strong> (13.5) and freshman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2714580' first='Gad' last='Harris']</strong> (13.2). Santa Fe has won 9 of its last 10 games. Right now, Sandia, Santa Fe and La Cueva are locks for the state tourney. . .District 5A-3 is a two-team race between Organ Mountain (18-5, 7-0) and Las Cruces (13-10, 6-1). The Knights and Bulldawgs clash Thursday night at LCHS in a crucial matchup.<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='1444750' first='Lenny' last='Washington']</strong> leads OMHS  in scoring (13.0), rebounding (6.2) and assists (4.8) per game. . .Hobbs (20-4, 3-1) and Roswell (19-5, 3-1) are now tied atop the District 5A-4 standings after the Coyotes beat the Eagles, 79-69, Tuesday night in Roswell. Senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2818762' first='Jacob' last='Palomino']</strong>, also the quarterback on Roswell's 5A championship winning football team, dominated the fourth quarter and finished with close to 30 points in the win. . .Albuquerque High (18-5, 5-0) leads District 5A-5 by 1.5 games over Atrisco Heritage and West Mesa, both 4-2 in district play. If form prevails, the Bulldogs should have the district title wrapped up by the time they face West Mesa on Feb. 20 in the regular season finale before the district tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">MaxPreps Basketball Rankings<br>Last updated 2/10/25<br>Boys<br>Class 5A<br>1.Volcano Vista<br>2.Hobbs<br>3.Sandia<br>4.Cleveland<br>5.Roswell<br>6.Albuquerque High<br>7.Organ Mountain<br>8.Cibola<br>9.Santa Fe<a href="https://t.co/6QaehkPYDg">https://t.co/6QaehkPYDg</a> Cueva <a href="https://t.co/Wst7MQ7CQy">pic.twitter.com/Wst7MQ7CQy</a></p>&mdash; NMAA (@_NMAA) <a href="https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1889430282354233719?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 11, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Leading Scorers In Class 5A (Per MaxPreps)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2773560,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-12-at-16-04-41-Division-5A-Boys-Basketball-2024-25-Points-Per-Game-Stat-Leaders.png"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-12-at-16-04-41-Division-5A-Boys-Basketball-2024-25-Points-Per-Game-Stat-Leaders.png?w=608" alt="" class="wp-image-2773560" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>            </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->