it was a back-and-fourth tussle

It might have been the best of the state basketball tournament championships.

It came in the boys final of 3A when 2nd-seeded Hot Springs came away with a 45-43 win over 4th-seeded Albuquerque Sandia Prep Friday at the University of New Mexico Pit.

Back and forth they went. Ten lead changes, nine ties, with the Sundevils (11-2) taking a 43-42 lead with the clock ticking down to the final eight seconds and the Tigers (14-1) responding with a 3 from beyond the arc by 5-foot-4 senior guard Cameron Zamora. Sandia Prep had no time outs left and a half court shot from 6-2senior Sam Henderson went off the front of the rim as the final buzzer sounded.

It was the 10th straight triumph by the team from Truth of Consequences, with 5-11 junior guard Randin Gosset coming away with the team-high 17 points, but Henderson had the game-high 24 points.

“This was an unbelievable game,” said Hot Springs head coach Derek Bean. “They scored, we scored, they shot foul shots, we shot foul shots, they had more size, but we battled for rebounds and were fortunate to get to hoist the championship trophy.”

It was 11-11 at the end of the first quarter, Hot Springs held a 23-18 halftime lead, scored only five points in the third quarter, but was still in front 28-27 heading into the final eight minutes. From there came four lead changes and a pair of ties before Hot Springs claimed the title in the final seconds.

Both teams shot 43 percent from the floor and from the free throw line, Hot Springs converted 10 of a dozen foul shots and the Sundevils made 13 of 16 before their 8-game win streak to an end.

In the 2A title game, it was a clash of undefeated teams and No. 1-seeded Gallup Rehoboth Christian won its 14th in a row by turning back 2nd-seeded Jal, 55-50, which lost for the first time in 15 starts.

This was also a tight tussle. It had eight lead changes and the same number of ties before Rehoboth tallied the final five points after a 50-50 deadlock. Jal led 16-8 after one quarter, maintained it at 28-20 at the intermission, but in the second half, the Lynx outscored its opponent, 35-22, with 6-5 senior Shawn Begay scoring 15 of his game-high 23 points.

For Jal, it was 6-foot senior Daniel Jones with the team-high 19 points, 14 coming in the first and second quarters.