Johnson, Rams come up short; skid reaches 4

ALBUQUERQUE – Rio Rancho High School senior Jayden Johnson entered his team’s game at Atrisco Heritage Academy the evening of Feb. 13 needing 19 points to hit the 1,000-point mark for his career.

When he left the gym, he was still short by nine points.

Being in foul trouble early scuttled any hopes he and the Rams had for a victory in the Jaguars’ gym, as No. 3 AHA (19-5, 5-1) remained in second place in District 1-5A with a 75-64 victory on Senior Night.

Johnson wasn’t the only Ram in early foul trouble; Kayden Decker was also on the bench early with two fouls.

It’s tough enough to beat the Jaguars and their 1-2 scoring punch of Latavious Morris and Marquise Renfro at full strength, and by game’s end, four Rams had fouled out.

The Jaguars scored the game’s first seven points and led 12-1at the end of the first quarter and 28-27 at halftime.

Johnson gave the Rams their only lead of the night when he converted an AHA turnover into a layup for a brief 29-28 lead, but a 13-2 Jaguars’ run gave the hosts a 10-point advantage.

The Jaguars’ lead grew to as many as 17 in the decisive third period, which ended with the Rams trailing 53-39.

Rio Rancho, which lost its first district meeting with the Jaguars 101-97 in overtime in the RAC on Jan. 26, kept chipping away at the double-digit lead in the fourth quarter, and once got within seven points.

Morris and Renfro scored 22 points apiece to lead the Jaguars, while Kevin Archuleta paced the Rams with 19, and Johnson, fouling out with 3:14 left in the game, had 10.

Rams coach Wally Salata, assessed with a technical foul in the second half, when several players were also given technicals, was less than enthused with the officiating.

By game’s end, the Jaguars went to the foul line 47 times and sank 34 free throws, to the Rams’ 17 of 23 outing at the line.

“When your best players get into foul trouble, it changes the while complexion of the game,” Salata said. “And tonight, that was the case.

“I mean, you can’t have three starters on the bench with fouls. All I ask is consistency … but when the foul count the way it was, especially in the second half … what are we supposed to do?

“We gave up 25 points in the third quarter and that’s not good,” Salata said. That period ended in a 12-5 run by the Jaguars.

As for his “T,” his first in a long time, Salata said, “I’m going to fight for our guys.”

Cibola 57, Rio Rancho 51: Two nights later, Johnson eclipsed the 1,000-point mark on a third-quarter dunk.

“The only problem with the dunk was he was called for a technical foul for hanging on the rim. He will definitely remember how he got his 1,000th point,” Salata said.

“The Rams were up 40-37 heading into the fourth quarter,” Salata said. “The Cougars outscored the Rams 20-11 in the fourth quarter by hitting four 3-pointers, three by freshman Chris Williams.”

Johnson led the Rams with 12 points.

It was the fourth loss in a row for the Rams, who may be in jeopardy of missing the 16-team postseason. It ended a 15-game winning streak over the Cougars, who last beat the Rams 69-64 in overtime at CHS on Jan. 27, 2017.

“All streaks come to an end. We just picked the wrong time for the streak to end,” said Salata.

Ram dunks: It’s not going to be easy for the Rams to snap their four-game skid: No. 1 Volcano Vista visits the RAC Tuesday at 7; the Rams have lost their last nine meetings with the Hawks, whom they last beat 80-74 in OT in the RAC on Feb. 19, 2020.

… The regular season ends Thursday, with the Rams playing at Cleveland at 7 p.m. The district tournament starts next week, followed by the release of the Class 5A state tournament bracket’s release on March 3. The Rams, if they make the 16-team field, will have a first-round road game.