VHS, LLHS girls, BHS boys earn home games; Valencia boys on the road

There were no real surprises Sunday for area high school basketball teams when the brackets were revealed for the state championships; however, there was a surprise two days later concerning the first round opponent for the Valencia girls.

The VHS and Los Lunas girls, along with the Belen boys are slotted to play home games in the first round. The VHS boys also qualified, but will go on the road.

Girls

Following a stellar run in the 2025 tournament, which ended in the 4A semifinals, Valencia is favored to return to the Pit. After winning the District 5-4A regular season and tournament titles, the Jaguars (21-6) are seeded fifth and will host No. 12 St. Pius (13-14) 7 p.m. Friday.

Originally, VHS was scheduled to host Pojoaque Valley, but Tuesday the New Mexico Activities Association announced an error was discovered “in the seeding and selection process” involving Shiprock (11), St. Pius (12), Grants (13), Espanola Valley (14), and Pojoaque Valley (15).

That mistake impacted 10 of the 16 teams in the 4A girls bracket. “It’s bittersweet,” Raymond Montoya, Valencia coach, said about the change. “Pius is well-coached and they will come to compete.”

The Sartans lost twice to the Jaguars in District 5-4A this season.

“For our preparation, it doesn’t change much,” said Montoya about the switch. “We have to focus on our controllables either way.”

The Jaguars continue to be without injured post player Eden Montgomery, but with a senior-heavy lineup that includes her sister Jaiden Montgomery, Francesca Otero and Savannah Saavedra, along with leading scorer Naima Corrales, junior, Valencia will be a handful.

During the regular season, Los Lunas lost to just three teams, and now in the opening round of the 5A playoffs, the Tigers will have a chance for some payback. Friday at 6 p.m., sixth-seeded

LLHS (23-5) will host No. 11 Mayfield (16-11), which defeated the Tigers 51-48 two months ago in Las Cruces after sending the game into overtime on a half-court shot at the buzzer.

“We know what they have,” said Manny Vigil, LLHS coach. “We’re excited for that match up and redemption of the (first) game.”

It’s a showdown Vigil was expecting based on the analytics.

“We knew that coming in. All the numbers were in the whole time,” pointing to the rematch.

LLHS is known for a stifling defense and steady offense, but in their last game, the third setback to Albuquerque High, the Tigers managed a season-low 28 points. Still, Vigil isn’t concerned.

“We had a little bit of a scoring drought (against AHS) but before that we were doing fine. I like the way the girls are playing going into this game.”

Belen (7-20) did not qualify for the 4A playoffs, with coach Sam Gavaldon calling the season, “A learning experience. I think towards the end, we figured it out.”

The Eagles will lose several key seniors, but Gavaldon said he has a group of talented sophomores.

“I think the biggest thing is that we got the experience on the court that will help us for next year.”

Boys

One of the team goals for Belen at the start of the season was to host a game in the first round of 4A, and that’s just what the Eagles accomplished by a narrow margin.

BHS (18-11) is an eight seed and Saturday at 5 p.m. will host No. 9 Portales (14-13).

“We’re excited about it,” Donald Marquez, Belen coach, said about the pairing. “I’m happy where we’re at.”

Another reason Marquez is optimistic is that he should have a complete roster available after illnesses plagued the team this season.

“I feel we are finally getting healthy,” the coach said.

As for the scouting report on the Rams, whose best victory came against No. 2 Artesia, some teams have had success using a press.

“They’re going to be solid. You don’t get a nine seed if you’re not,” Marquez noted. “We’re not going to take anyone lightly.”

It was a perfect showing in District 5-4A with all five teams, Belen, Highland, Grants, St. Pius and Valencia getting the call. VHS (15-13) grabs the 13-seed and will travel Saturday to No. 4 Del Norte (18-10) for a 7 p.m. tipoff.

“They’re very athletic, well-coached,” Jesse Hathoot, VHS coach, said about the Knights and Jeron McIntosh. “They’ll spread the floor. They’re hard to keep in front.”

Hathoot said Francois Satchivi, averaging nearly 20 points per game, is one of the best guards in the state.

“He’s a three-level scorer that poses problems,” he said.

The Jaguars had a first hand look during the Knights first game of the season, a 54-46 Del Norte victory at Valencia. While both teams have improved since then, the fact it was a tight contest until the end, “should give our guys confidence,” Hathoot believes. No playoffs for Los Lunas this season, but coach Pablo Gabaldon “was just very proud with how the players never gave up throughout the season.”

Overall, the Tigers (10-18) finished with four more wins than last year and two more victories (3-5) in district play. In addition, Gabaldon says the Tigers were eighth in 5A scoring defense.