Hawks top Bears in semifinal
The Volcano Vista boys basketball stayed unbeaten and cruised past La Cueva 58-49 in the state semifinals Friday morning at the Pit.
The Hawks (28-0) got their biggest scare this season in December when La Cueva led most of the game before a late 3-pointer by Ja’Kwon Hill gave Volcano a 60-59 victory.
This time, it was a different story.
No. 2 Volcano Vista jumped out to an early lead thanks to an 11-0 run in the first quarter and were never really threatened by the third-seeded Bears (24-4).
“Yeah, we played well,” Volcano Vista coach Greg Brown said. “Today we were ready. This is the time of year that we are looking forward to. We have a special group of seniors, and it’s just been fun to be along for the ride.”
Three of those seniors, Hill (18 points), Oscar McCoy (11 points) and Kaden Valdez (14 points), did most of the scoring.
“The first time we played these guys, we really didn’t have an identity, offensive or defensive,” Hill said. “So the biggest thing we preached in this game was to just go in and use everything that we learned from the games before and just put it all together.”
The Hawks did just that Friday, leading by as many as 24 points before La Cueva closed the gap in the fourth quarter. Despite outscoring Volcano Vista 16-2 in the final stanza, the game never felt like it was in doubt.
One last step remains for the Hawks to finish off a perfect season. They will play top-seeded and undefeated Las Cruces (31-0) at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Pit.
