Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

Thursday state basketball tournament update

This is our main page for updates on the state basketball tournament. Check for updates throughout the day.

Hope Christian has topped Portales 55-40 in the 4A semis for the second-straight season. The top-seeded Huskies also defeated Portales in the 2015 4A title game. The story is here.

Class 2A girls: Tatum 64, Fort Sumner 52

BERNALILLO — Bailey O'Connor scored 18 points to lead three in double figures for top-seeded Tatum, which moves on to a 1:30 p.m. Friday title matchup against Escalante at The Pit. The sixth-seeded Bears upset No. 2 Logan 47-46.

Tatum (23-5) never trailed, and led by as many as 13 late in the third quarter.

Fort Sumner got 20 points from junior Jordyn Stowe, but Claudia Torres (nine) was the only other Vixen to notch more than six points.

The Vixens finished the season at 20-10.

Class 3A girls: Tohatchi 69, Texico 44

RIO RANCHO — Third-seeded Tohatchi ran away with it early and led by as many as 28. The Cougars will move on to the 1:30 p.m. Friday title game at The Pit. They will face top-seeded Eunice, a 44-38 winner over Laguna-Acoma.

Kalian Mitchell score 26 points to lead the Cougars, going 8-of-15 from the field and 8-of-8 from the line to top three Tohatchi players in double figures.

Texico was led by guard Baylee Sours with 16 points, while center Jasmine Gannon added 12. Only five other players scored for the Wolverines, and none had more than seven.

The loss breaks a streak of two straight 3A titles and three straight years reaching the title game.

Class 1A girls: Melrose 41, Roy 27

BERNALILLO — Melrose moves on to its third-straight championship game, but its first as a Class 1A school since 2013, after holding the Longhorns to 15 points the rest of the way after losing a 12-11 first quarter.

Melrose, which will take on either Elida or Hondo in an 11:30 a.m. Friday title matchup at The Pit, went deep into its bench in a game it led by as many as 21. Reagan Carthel scored 13 and Brette DeVaney nine to lead the Buffaloes (22-10), and 10 of the 13 who played for Melrose scored.

Roy (22-4), which was hounded into 15 percent shooting (7-of-47) on the afternoon, was led by Riley Clavel's game-high 12.

Class 1A girls: Elida 64, Hondo 30

A District 4-1A rematch will take place on The Pit floor at 11:30 a.m. Friday, as the six-time defending small-school champions advanced with a rout of third-seeded Hondo.

The Owls (24-5) scored the game's first two points, but never led after that point in what turned into a complete Elida domination.

Kasyn Creighton scored 18 points, shooting 4-of-6 from the field and 10-of-10 from the line, to lead three in double figures for the Tigers (25-6). Her effort led Elida's advantages of 31-0 off the bench and 24-10 in the paint.

Lacy Ferguson scored 13, while Madi Haley added 10.

Friday will be the fifth meeting of the season between the teams, with Melrose claiming the 4-1A tiebreaker game and Elida returning the favor in the district tournament championship.

Elida is 105-2 against its own classification during its title run, but the first loss against Melrose cost the Tigers a 100-0 start.

Chase Dictson scored nine points to lead the Owls.

Class 3A boys: Santa Rosa 78, Texico 73, OT

RIO RANCHO — What looked like a Texico blowout from the get-go turned into a game of attrition, and the third-seeded Lions outscored the Wolverines in a wild finish to earn a 10 a.m. Saturday state championship date with either Pecos or Dulce at The Pit.

Texico led 17-1 after one, and extended the lead to 21 early in the second quarter before the Lions charged back. Santa Rosa, led by Joaquin Romo's 22 points, outscored the Wolverines 61-37 in the second half and overtime — including a 22-17 overtime to top off the win.

In all, eight players fouled out with three of them on Texico's side.

Dalton Thatcher scored 31 points to lead all scorers, while Braden Fraze had 12 and Nathan Phipps nine before both fouled out.

The Lions also got 14 from Cody Schattschneider, 11 from Joseph Esquibel and 10 from Emilio Ulibarri.

Class 1A Boys: Maxwell 68, Melrose 50

BERNALILLO — The second-seeded Bears (27-3) took control early, led for the final 29 minutes and extended the lead to as high as 18 at the close.

Maxwell got most of its scoring from three players, but it was more than enough. Carl Gonzales had a game-high 26, Kolten Riggs posted his second-straight double-double with 20 points and 18 boards and Aaron Salazar notched 10.

Melrose, which got 17 from Jordan Jasso and 14 from Jared Lee, ends its season at 24-7.

Thursday’s semifinals

(Seeds in parentheses)

Boys

Class 6A

At The Pit, Albuquerque

(12) Volcano Vista 49, (8) Atrisco Heritage 45

(2) Las Cruces vs. (3) Cleveland, 8:15 p.m.

Class 5A

At The Pit, Albuquerque

(1) Roswell 77, (13) Del Norte 46

(2) Capital vs. (6) Los Lunas, 6:30 p.m.

Class 3A

At Santa Ana Star Center, Rio Rancho

(3) Santa Rosa 78, (2) Texico 73

(1) Pecos vs. (4) Dulce, 8:15 p.m.

Class 2A

At Santa Ana Star Center, Rio Rancho

(5) Mesilla Valley 55, (1) Magdalena 52

(2) Lordsburg vs. (3) Mora, 6:30 p.m.

Class 1A

At Bernalillo H.S.

(1) Quemado 62. (5) Springer 36

(2) Maxwell 68, (3) Melrose 50

Girls

Class 6A

At Santa Ana Star Center, Rio Rancho

(7) Sandia 48, (6) Eldorado 41

(5) La Cueva 49, (1) Hobbs 47

Class 5A

At The Pit, Albuquerque

(5) Roswell Goddard 54, (1) Roswell 52

(2) Los Lunas 55, (3) Espanola Valley 54

Class 4A

At The Pit, Albuquerque

(1) Hope Christian 55, (4) Portales 40

(2) Shiprock 61, (3) Robertson 56, OT

Class 3A

At Santa Ana Star Center, Rio Rancho

(1) Eunice 44, (5) Laguna Acoma 38

(3) Tohatchi 69, (2) Texico 44

Class 2A

At Bernalillo H.S.

(6) Escalante 47, (2) Logan 46

(1) Tatum 64, (5) Fort Sumner 52

Class 1A

At Bernalillo H.S.

(2) Melrose 41, (3) Roy/Mosquero 27

(1) Elida 64, (4) Hondo 30