The Cimarron Rams shook off a slow start and battled back and forth with #2 seed and defending Class A Champion Fort Sumner/House before the Foxes escaped with a 66-63 win in the Boys Class A Semi final.
Played at Rio Rancho Events Center on Thursday, March 14, The Rams went on a first quarter rally to close to within 3 at the end of the period 15-12. With help from the bench, a three by Andres Gomez gave the Rams their first lead at 20-19 and then when the smoke cleared, Uriah Martinez hit one of his three-pointers to put the Rams up by eight. Momentum shifted quickly in the game that saw three ties and four lead changes as Fort Sumner closed with a flurry to lead by one at the half, 34-33.
Ft Sumner took a 6-point lead late in the 3rd quarter, but the flow went back to Cimarron as the period came to a close with Logan Sahd tying it with a three and Demitrius Jackson sinking two free throws to give the Rams what appeared to be the lead going into the fourth quarter. But with six seconds left Joaquin Segura cooly sank a three-point buzzer-beater to give the Foxes a one point 49-48 lead into the final 8 minutes. Segura would end up the night leading all scorers with 21 including 3 three-pointers.
The Foxes tried to run away with it in the fourth and led by six until a baseline jumper by Jackson cut it to four. But then the Foxes’ 6’8″ big man, Cash Burney reared back and hit his only three of the game to make it 63-56 with 2:45 left. Isaiah Salazar answered quickly to make it a five-point Fox advantage with 2:39 left. Jackson then made one of his six blocks, but Joaquin Segura made an amazing shot on a drive. With 1:18 left Cimarron got a turnover, and then Sahd drew the foul and sank both free throws. Foxes took a long quick three-point attempt, Cimarron Andrew Gonzales hit one of his two threes to cut it to 65-63. The Rams drew an offensive foul with 19 seconds left, then a miss on a drive and a three point attempt for the win fell just short and the air went out of the room for Cimarron.
The Cimarron Rams played the whole season in the shadow of District 5A opponent Des Moines and were given a #6 seed going into the Class A NM Boys Tournament. They stepped out of the shadows with a pull away victory over Des Moines in the quarter finals and then the semifinal effort against the defending champion and came within one possession of a finals berth.
Cimarron will say goodbye to five graduating seniors including Demitrius Jackson who led Rams scoring with 19 and chipped in 14 rebounds and 6 blocks, Uriah Martinez had 18, Logan Sahd contributed 11; Andrew Gonzales had 6; Isaiah Salazar with 4; Andres Gomez with 3; and Cody Brooks with 2. Angelo Guster had considerable time on the floor and Henry Werhane completed the state tournament roster.
For Coach Eloy Brazil’s Rams they finished 24-9 with Assistant Coaches Joe Mitchell and Tracy Gonzales with Kenzie Romero serving as the Rams Statistician.
