Rams hold off Tigers, make 5A quarterfinals

By Eric Maddy
The SCORE

In tournament basketball, it is all about surviving and advancing.

The Rio Rancho boys basketball team did both Saturday night, holding off a furious Alamogordo rally to defeat the Tigers 75-64 in the opening round of the New Mexico Class 5A tournament.

The red-hot Rams, winners of nine straight games, will take on No. 5 seed La Cueva at 9:45 a.m.  Wednesday at University Arena in the first quarterfinal game of the day. La Cueva eliminated Gadsden 72-64 on Saturday.

The Rams hit seven three-point shots and slammed home three dunks in the first half to open up as much as an 18-point lead. But before the end of the third quarter, that lead was gone.

Though the team is different from the state championship squad of a season ago, the Rams played like champions in the fourth quarter to hold off the 13th seeded Tigers. Rio Rancho got balanced scoring in its 22-point fourth quarter, with five players contributing baskets.

Alamogordo was still within four points with four minutes left in the game when Jorel Johnson hit his second basket of the quarter to ignite a 13-4 Ram run that ended only with a rebound basket by Alamo’s Seth Pyeatt with 11.1 seconds left in the game. By that time, the Rams were already thinking about another year in The Pit.

Rio Rancho trailed 6-2 after the first 4:14 of the game and was unable to stop Tremaine McClellan, Alamogordo’s 6-4 force inside. McClellan scored all six of the Tigers’ points to that point but picked up his second foul at that point, setting the stage for the Rams’ first-half run.

“That was a cheap foul,” Alamogordo coach John Madden said. “I thought in a big game like this you let the kids play. You don’t call that on a player of that caliber at that time.

“But we can’t complain. We were in the game. There are a lot of teams at home right now that didn’t get a chance to play.”

Rio Rancho head coach Brian Smith, for one, didn't mind seeing McClellan on the bench.

“I don’t know how many rebounds he had. We made him look like a superstar tonight,” Smith said.  “Granted he’s a good player, but we’ve got to work on that before Wednesday.”

McClellan’s departure seemed to open things up for the Rams. Johnson hit a three-pointer, Josh Walker got loose inside for a basket and Chris Newsome hit a trey to tie the game 10-10. From the Rams went on a 23-8 run over the last 2:39 of the first quarter and first 3:43 of the second to push ahead by 15 points. It grew as large as 18 on Marcus Williams’ consecutive three-pointers, the latter which came with 1:20 left in the period.

When Alamogordo outscored Rio Rancho 6-2 in the last 80 seconds of the half to trim the margin to 43-29 at halftime, it looked like a blip on a radar screen.  With Williams (15 points, three three-pointers) and Newsome (10 points, two three’s) leading the way, the high-flying Rams were able to overcome Alamogordo’s inside power game and seemed on the verge of a blowout victory. All they needed was a quick start in the third quarter. But …

“We couldn’t get into rhythm at all in that third quarter. The foul count was 5-0 at one time and for us that’s very unique. We don’ ever get into a game where we have five fouls and they don’t have any,” Smith said. “But that’s one of the things about these guys. They are very resilient, very tough minded.

“I give Alamogordo credit. They came out and made some adjustments. We knew they weren’t going to give up. It’s the state playoffs. You can’t give up.”

Alamogordo outscored the Rams 22-8 in the first 7:45 period to tie the game 51-51, making only one turnover while forcing Rio Rancho into five turnovers and five team fouls in that stretch. When Alamogordo point guard Travis Geiger scored his eighth point of the quarter with 1:08 left in the period, the game was tied for the only time in the half.

Significantly, the Tigers never got the lead. Both teams had two turnovers in the final minute, but Newsome’s only basket of the quarter gave Rio Rancho the lead – for good, as it turned out, though nobody watching the game would have bet on it at the time.

“We had some key turnovers at crucial times, and that’s the difference in the game,” Madden said. “We brought life back into our team. We were ready to go. Sometimes you get a little too excited. Our turnovers were on an emotional high after coming back. We didn’t do the little things to take care of the ball.

“I’m upset we couldn’t finish it. We played a great game in that second half.”

Just like the Rio Rancho girls did in their opening-round victory over Clovis the night before, the boys turned it on in the final period. After Johnson’s big basket, Isaac Aragon hit two mid-range jumpers, Williams fed Newsome on a backdoor lob for an easy basket and contributed a slam dunk with 1:02 left in the game to make the margin 11 points. Meanwhile, Alamogordo made six turnovers and scored just four points in the same stretch.

“In the fourth quarter we turned it around and used our strengths to take over,” Smith said. “I had a lot of good play off my bench tonight and that’s huge this time of year.

“Josh Walker (who scored the first two baskets of the period) – that’s his shot, that 15-footer. And Isaac Aragon is so inconsistent as a shooter sometimes, but he was able to knock down a couple of big ones for us.

“But I was more proud of our defense in the fourth quarter.”

When it came down to defending in crunch time, the defending champions played like champions. Rio Rancho forced eight Alamogordo turnovers in the final 16.3 seconds of the third quarter and fourth quarter combined while making just two of their own and didn’t allow the second-chance baskets that had plagued them earlier.

“The thing I love about this team is that they know that weight is on their shoulders, being the defending state champs,” Smith said. “Even though it’s not the same team, these guys have created their own identity. They earned that district championship. They earned this first round victory. These guys have earned a trip to The Pit, and that’s something that’s pretty special.

“They’ve bought into it. It’s a program thing now. That’s what we want to continue in the future, and hopefully other kids coming up will see what’s happening and try to fill those shoes.”

Smith said he had been granted permission to trade practice and study hall time on Tuesday, meaning the Rams will be on the court at 9:45 a.m. both Tuesday and Wednesday.

“We have to try to get these guys ready mentally ready for that 9:45 a.m. game,” Smith said. “That’s a whole other mentality right there.”

Any reason to doubt another magical run at a state title?

“We’re playing as good as anybody in the state,” Smith said. “Hopefully we can keep it going.”

ALAMOGORDO (64)
Matt Schalk 3 0-0 7; Travis Geiger 7 6-8 20; Jordan Blake 1 1-2 3; Jerec Manning 0 0-0 0; Jason Trujillo 0 0-0 0; Darius James 1 0-0 2; Tyler Josselyn 2 1-2 5; Seth Pyeat 6 0-0 12; Nate Telles 0 0-0 0; Tremaine McClellan 6 1-2 13; Shaun Lacey 0 2-2 2. Total 25 11-16 64.

RIO RANCHO (75)
Marcus Williams 10 0-3 23; Seth Baldwin 0 0-0 0; Chris Newsome 7 2-5 18; Josh Quintana 2 2-3 6; Kyle Stephenson 0 0-0 0; Jorel Johnson 5 0-2 12; P.J. Horgan 1 0-0 2; Isaac Aragon 3 0-0 6; Josh Walker 4 0-0 8. Totals 32 4-13 75.

Alamogordo 14-15-22-13-61
Rio Rancho   18-25-10-22-75

3-point goals: Alamogordo 1 (Schalk), Rio Rancho 7 (Williams 3, Newsome 2, Johnson 2). Total fouls: Alamogordo 16, Rio Rancho 18. Records: Alamogordo 13-15, Rio Rancho 16-11.