No. 1 Magdalena boots No. 9 ECAOGA (co-op) from state tournament

No. 1 Magdalena took another step back toward the Class A boys state basketball title game in Bernalillo yesterday. Still, No. 9 Evangel Christian Academy/Oak Grove Classical Academy (19-12) didn’t go quietly as it pushed the Steers to the limit in a 58-48 quarterfinal game.

The Eagles came loaded for Bear or, in this case, a few Steers.

“This time of year, that’s just the way it’s going to be. They’re (officials) going to let a lot more physicality happen in these kinds of games. You have to be ready to match it, and we weren’t for this one,” Magdalena coach Jory Mirabal said. “I mean, it ended up turning out all right.”

The officials might have been letting some stuff go, but that didn’t stop post Jefferey Stuteville from drawing two quick fouls and forcing Mirabal to go to his rotation earlier than expected.

Sixth man Krae Stephens ended up stepping in for Stuteville, and later for Joseph Zamora, and the Eagles continued their physical pounding.

“Krae had a great game for us tonight. It’s just plug-and-play. Krae is going to come out there and do a lot of things that Jeff can do. He may not be the same size, but the effort is always there,” Mirabal said.

The Steers’ first-quarter ammunition came off the hands of Lanbrent Ganadonegro, Stuteville, Joesph Zamora, and Matthew Parker to put the Steers in the lead at 15-9. The second quarter featured a trio of bombs from Ganadonegro, Jacob Markland, and Zamora as Magdalena flexed its outside game for a 30-24 lead at halftime.

The third quarter was another defensive battle with neither team gaining an advantage. The main worry for the Steers was keeping the ball out of the hands of the Eagles’ TA Benavidez, who ended up with six three-pointers and had a game-high 23 points.

Magdalena proved far more dimensional in team scoring, with Ayden Herschbach and Stephens joining Ganadonegro, Zamora, and Stuteville in on fourth-quarter points.

Next is Logan (25-5), a 50-43 winner over Melrose. Game time is 4:45 p.m. Thursday at the Rio Rancho Events Center.

What’s it going to take for Magdalena to win it all?

“You have to have some luck. You have to stay true to who you are. You can’t get caught up in calls and what the other teams are doing. There’s going to be some adjustments to be made. Those teams that make those adjustments better end up winning,” Mirabal said.

Scoring – Lanbrent Ganadonegro 14, Ayden Herschbach 2, Javen Tafoya, Jeff Stuteville 12, Krae Stephens 4, Shane Montoya, Joseph Zamora 17, Zeb Apachito, Jacob Markland 5, Ky Stephens, Matthew Parker 4.