Both sides have brought a pretty sizable crowd, and the attendance is about 7,000 for the game. Unfortunately some people in the St. Michael's crowd lack decorum when it comes to the national anthem. A couple of women from the student section either were heckling the Ruidoso singers or heckling somebody, and it made for an uncomfortable situation.
The starting lineups being announced and the game is about to start.
First quarter
Hope Christian has forced five turnovers already, and it has employed a box-and-1 on St. Michael's Jordan Romero. It couldn't stop him from opening the scoring for the Horsemen with a wing 3.
Hope jumped out to a 9-5 lead, but Justin Smith hits a free throw and Romero hits two to get within one.
The quarter ends ominously, however. Hope post Jimmy Williams gets an offensive board and putback at the buzzer.
Hope Christian 11, St. Michael's 8
Second quarter
The Huskies are beginning to assert itself on the offensive glass. They have five offensive rebound and theyy are turning them into second-chance points. But they haven't solved the puzzle that is Jordan Romero. He's scored seven points in the quarter, including a nice, step-back 17-footer that got St. Michael's to within 17-16 at 3:27.
Hope, however, gets a jumper from Christian Schlenker and a putback from Matt Murphy, the son of head coach Jim Murphy.
Romero then misses two free throws - his first misses from the line since the Pojoaque game - at 1:13. The Huskies misses a couple of short-range shots and the half ends.
Hope Christian 21, St. Michael's 18
Third quarter
The Horsemen have ratcheted the defensive intensity. Only an Arren Wells jumper has prevented the Huskies form going scoreless through the half-way point. The rest of the Horsemen have stepped up as well. Buckets from Smith, Elijah Garcia and Gabe Ortiz give St. Michael's the edge, 24-23.
After Murphy calls a timeout, the Huskies start to battle back. And they are doing it on the offensive glass. wells gets a putback, then Schlenker makes good on a third chance. Horsemen head coach Ron Geyer calls a timeout.
Hope Christian 27, St. Michael's 24
Five turnovers occur over the next 2 minutes, but then Jeremy Romero, who had just had his shot blocked by Schlenker, goes at the 6-4 post and scores the layup plus earns the foul.
He completes the three-point play, then Garcia hits a 16-footer to tie the score at 29. Romero, who went scoreless this quarter, misses a 45-footer at the buzzer.
Hope Christian 29, St. Michael's 29
Fourth quarter
Jordan Romero awakens to start the quarter. He hits a putback and then two free throws to give St. Michael's a 33-31 lead. Schlenker comes back with a layup, but fails to convert the three-point play.
Timeout, Horsemen.
Tied at 33.
A pretty pass from Romero to Garcia is converted into a reverse layup, but the Huckies answer with a Wells layup. Romero jacks up a 3 and misses, Schlenker gets a layup. Then Garcia tries to get the ball back to Jordan on the inbound, but he;s not looking and it goes out. Wells gets a basket. Ortiz misses and the Huskies rebound. Timeout, Hope
41-35, Huskies. Less than 4 minutes are left.
Schlenker gets another layup – the Horsemen can't stop the posts – and it's 43-35 with 3:04 to go.
Finally, the Horsemen score - Michael Yardman-Frank hits a 3, but Schlenker hits again. Jordan nails another 3 for 45-41, but the bigs for Hope are unstoppable. Wells gets fouled on a layup, and hits one of two. Schelnker it fouled on a rebound, but misses the one-and-one.
But whatever hopes for a Horsemen upset are thwarted when Matt Murphy gets a steal. Matt Excajada gets a layup and it is 48-41.
Another miss leads to Jordan fouling, and he collects his fifth and is done. He had four in the fourth alone.
Wells hits two free throws, but Diego Ulibarri nails a 3 with :26.4 to go.
50-44, Hope Christian.
Matt Murphy is fouled, and hits one of two. 51-44
Antonio Garcia misses a corner 3, Wells grabs the board and Ulibarri fouls.
wells hits two.
53-44, 15.4 to go.
Tristan Perry gets a steal and is fouled.
His two free throws are the last points of the night.
Hope Christian finally gets its AAA title.
Huskies 55, Horsemen 44.
St. Michael's finishes 23-8, while Hope Christian wins its 21st straight game and go undefeated against AAA competition.
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I loved seeing St. Mikes lose! You mention their fans disrespecting the National Anthem and I say typical St. Mikes fans! Hope schooled you and they won with dignity and class - something St. Mikes will never know. St. Mikes fans are classless and will never be the program Hope is! Go Huskies - can't wait until you start dominating 3A football too!
ReplyDeleteMAYBE NEXT YEAR...MAYBE NEXT YEAR!!!
ReplyDeleteOMG...........Hope did NOT SCHOOL SMHS. Did you go to the game? SMHS put up a GREAT fight! We'll see you next year!
ReplyDeletelike the horsemen the huskies are a basketball power house but lets be honest thats all they ever will be St. Mikes contends for multiple state championships every year in football, basketball, soccer, wrestling, track, and baseball. All this hatred for the horsemen is a little ridiculous, its high school athletics you know its not exactly the major leagues. i congratulate the huskies on their recent accomplishments and look forward to seeing them compete in the future. so relax bud your gonna give yourself a heart attack when hope starts to lose cuz you can only stay on top for so long.
ReplyDeleteExactly, maybe next year! That must be coming from a crybaby pojo fan that was offended because some St. Mike's fans were chanting that after Pojoque loss. Big deal, get over it. If you don't like St. Mike's which we know you don't just stay home, don't go to the games. Don't subject yourself to "our" classless fans (I doubt anyone would care) I'm so tired of all the complaining that I hear from the whiners from the valley. It's high school basketball for goodness sake. I hope you never go to a college game, the fans would give you cardiac arrest with their "behavior". It's part of competition.....
ReplyDeleteSt. Mike's doesn't take anything away from Hope for winning. They deserved it. But for someone to say that they kicked St. Mike's butt is ridiculous....
It's too bad all you St. Mikes fans have to be so disrespectful and classless year after year.
ReplyDeleteIt was a little disrespectful for St. Mikes fans to chant during the anthem. But I don't care to much that St. Mikes can win in other sports this article is about basketball. And hope is probably going to stay on top for the next 4 years since their second leading scorer was only a freshmen and the class of 2012 is really good at Hope. Also, St. Mikes was Jordan Romero and friends the'll be good but not good enough to stop the huskies
ReplyDeleteST.MIKES WILL NEVER WIN STATE WITH HOPE CHRISTIAN IN 3A!!! NEVER
ReplyDeleteNever say never. And don't count your chickens before they are hatched. Injuries have stopped alot of potential champs.
ReplyDelete