NM HIGH SCHOOL STATE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

It had nothing to do with the current high prices at the gas pump, it was simply the St. Michael’s boys basketball team running out of gas after a long and winding road that followed a dismal start.

The dismal starts of 0-10 and 2-12 became history once the Horsemen got into gear to crash the state tournament as the 3A 4th-seed before running into 2nd-seeded District 2 Robertson for the state championship Saturday at the University of New Mexico Pit.

It was the fourth time the rivals went at it this season. The only win over the Cardinals actually came at the Perez-Shelley court the day that interim head coach Gerard Garcia informed the players that head coach Dave Rodriguez was placed on administrative leave, and when they played the contest at night, it was the Horsemen with a huge comeback and 61-57 win in overtime.

This put St. Michael’s on a big run winning 13 of its next 15 starts, but it was not getting another triumph over the Cardinals, losing the next three that included the final 65-56 setback that brought Robertson the state championship blue trophy. It overcame a late rally by the stubborn Horsemen, who concluded over .500 for the first time at 16-15, while the Cards finished at 23-6.

Coming off a first round rout, 76-33, at home over 13th-seeded Tohatchi, a buzzer-beater 41-40 win at home over 5th-seeded Navajo Prep in the quarterfinals, and a 63-33 stunner over top-seeded Socorro in the semifinals, St. Michael’s was hoping to continue winning and miraculously hoisting the blue trophy.

But the Cardinals held the upper hand, leading early and up by 12 points down the stretch. The Horsemen had already wiped out deficits of 15-4, 25-14, 44-33, and 59-47. Then came the 9-2 run that trimmed the gap to 61-56 behind the play of seniors Devin Flores and Adam Montoya, but then the blue and white missed a pair of shots and a turnover by Flores didn’t help.

It was the last of 17 turnovers by Garcia’s boys, and he spoke of also missing several shots that cost the team down the stretch.

“We missed seven, eight point-blank shots all game long,” he said. “The matchups were there, they hit some shots and we didn’t. But you can’t overlook the way these guys overcame the bad start, the way they fought back in games, the season that went from a poor beginning to a title game appearance.”

As for Flores and Montoya, they combined for 38 points, most of which came at crucial times. Even the Lady Horsemen under first-year head coach Sonya Ruiz made it to state before losing at 4th-seeded Navajo Prep, 57-47 in the opening round.

In the 4A boys final, it was No.1-seeded Albuquerque Highland cooling off red-hot, 11th-seeded Albuquerque Del Norte, 76-59, Saturday. In the 5A final, it was a clash of undefeated teams as 2nd-seeded Albuquerque Volcano VIsta (27-0) won handily over top-seeded Las Cruces, 66-35, for the only Wildcats’ defeat in 31 starts. In 2A, 2nd-seeded Pecos lost in the championship contest to 5th-seeded Albuquerque Menaul, 70-63, and the Panthers wound up at 21-7.

The tall and taller Menaul team also rolled over 12th-seeded Dulce, 4th-seeded Escalante, 61-55, and No.1-seeded Tularosa, 65-61. Pecos had won 11 in a row in quest of its sixth state title, four in the last five years, and turned back 15th-seeded Penasco, 74-58, 7th-seeded Hagerman, 74-43, and 3rd-seeded defending state champion Gallup Rehoboth Christian, 67-41, in the semis.