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If Wednesday鈥檚 performances were any indication, Highland and Artesia could be on a collision course for a Class 4A championship rematch.

The top-seeded Hornets rolled past ninth-seeded Portales 95-69 in a quarterfinal matchup at the Pit. They鈥檒l move on to play fifth-seeded Taos, which defeated No. 4 Del Norte 62-49, on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

In the other half of the bracket, defending state champion No. 2 Artesia advanced to the semifinals with a dominant 80-19 triumph over No. 7 Gallup. Meanwhile, No. 3 Hope Christian improved to 4-0 against sixth-seeded sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Academy this season with a 70-47 victory. Artesia and Hope Christian will meet on Thursday at the Pit at 3 p.m.

No. 2 ARTESIA 80, No. 7 GALLUP 19: Braylon Vega scored 40 points and hit nine of 11 from 3-point range as the Bulldogs (24-5) rolled past the Bengals (22-8).

The outcome was never in doubt. Artesia jumped out to a 22-2 first-quarter lead and kept the pressure on from there, increasing its lead to 40 by halftime to ensure that a running clock was in place for the duration of the second half. Gallup, meanwhile, shot just 20 percent from the field and had 23 turnovers. Artesia held significant advantages in points off turnovers (30-2), points in the paint (32-10), rebounds (37-17) and fast break points (26-0).

Complacency wasn鈥檛 going to be an issue for the defending state champions, a veteran squad with 10 seniors on the roster.

鈥淥ur motto this year is tenacious mindset, so we don't worry about anything else but being tenacious, being relentless, playing 32 minutes,鈥� said Artesia coach Michael Mondragon.

Meanwhile, Vega had a theory to explain his hot shooting night.

鈥淭hey (the coaches) took our phones last night, so that really got me locked in,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 had to really think about the game tonight, so I was just thinking about making shots. And that's what kind of happened.鈥�

Artesia point guard Charlie Campbell supplemented Vega鈥檚 outburst with 12 points, six assists and seven steals.

No. 1 HIGHLAND 95, No. 9 PORTALES 69: The Hornets (25-4) simply had too much depth and firepower for the Rams (15-14).

Nico Sanchez (27 points), Juan Limas (22) and Jerry Moody (20) propelled Highland to a season high in scoring, and the Hornets led by double digits for the vast majority of the second half. Highland held a whopping 56-to-35 edge on the boards, which led to it outscoring Portales by 23 in second-chance points.

鈥淚t was huge 鈥� 35 (second-chance) points, 28 offensive rebounds. That's a season high for us,鈥� said Highland coach Justin Woody. 鈥淲e noticed in film that sometimes they're out of position in all the zones they play to rebound. So we really wanted to take advantage of that and send all five guys to the glass.鈥�

The Hornets鈥� strength on the glass resulted in plenty of transition opportunities, as they finished with 27 fast break points. Woody has been keeping tabs on his team鈥檚 transition offense of late, and he has been pleased with the results.

鈥淭hat's our 11th straight game scoring over 20 transition points,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 been the key to us when we get out in transition, secure the rebound and then we're able to run.鈥�

Pierce Culpepper, a 6-foot-7 junior forward, finished with 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists for Portales. Aiden Mestas (14 points), Pat Alvarado (11) and Jacoby Bamforth (10) also scored in double figures for the Rams.

No. 3 HOPE CHRISTIAN 70, No. 6 ALBUQUERQUE ACADEMY 47: After winning their three previous meetings by a combined eight points, the Huskies were able to get some separation from the Chargers (18-12) when it mattered most.

Hope (23-8) broke open the game with a 15-4 run at the outset of the third quarter and never looked back from there, leading by as many as 31 in a comfortable triumph over its District 6-4A rivals.

鈥淚 was bemoaning that we've been playing the same team, but I guess you know who you're playing,鈥� Huskies coach Jim Murphy said. 鈥淚 think we had a good feel for what they like to do and what we can do against them.

鈥淢aybe that helped us this game. We made some adjustments and hopefully it paid off. It's about hitting shots. Our boys stepped up and hit some shots. They (Academy) missed their shots in the second half.鈥�

Five different players 鈥� Landon Cochran (16), Isaac Aaron (14), Kyle Eades (14), Brayden Giron (13) and Jayce Miera (12) 鈥� reached double figures for Hope. Perhaps the most memorable bucket late in the first quarter, when Giron scored his sixth point of the game to set Hope鈥檚 all-time scoring record. Giron, who surpassed Arren Wells for the No. 1 spot, currently sits at 1,624 career points.

鈥淚t's really exciting, but we still need to keep going and win the next game,鈥� said Giron.

It鈥檚 been that kind of season for Giron, who set the Huskies single-game scoring record with 43 points earlier this season. For now, however, Hope is focused on the task ahead.

鈥淲e're going to probably celebrate a lot at the banquet, all the things that he's accomplished as an individual. He's a team man, and we're a team,鈥� Murphy said. 鈥�..He鈥檚 had a great career, and we just wish him the best. A very humble guy 鈥� couldn鈥檛 ask for a better guy to break that record.鈥�

No. 5 TAOS 62, No. 4 DEL NORTE 49: The inside-outside duo of Malakhai Ely and Mario Rodriguez combined for 10 points during a 13-0 second quarter flurry to help propel the Tigers (25-5) past the Knights (19-11).

That run gave Taos a 30-16 lead, and it was able to keep Del Norte at arm鈥檚 length the rest of the way. It didn鈥檛 hurt the Tigers鈥� cause that Knights standout Francois Satchivi was limited after picking up three fouls in the first quarter and four fouls in the first half overall.

鈥�(Del Norte coach Jeron) McIntosh found ways to get him in there, but I thought that probably helped,鈥� said Taos coach Hernando Chavez. 鈥淭he guys, not only were they solid defensively, but we rebounded really well in that second quarter. I thought that made a huge difference for us as well.鈥�

Though Satchivi managed to stay in the game to score a team-high 19 points for Del Norte, it wasn鈥檛 nearly enough. Taos extended its lead to 21 in the third quarter before an 11-0 Knights run cut the margin to 47-36 at the end of the period. That proved to be Del Norte鈥檚 last gasp, however, as the Tigers quickly pushed the lead back to 17 midway through the final stanza. The Knights never seriously threatened the rest of the way.

Ely had 23 points 鈥� on 10 for 11 shooting 鈥� with nine rebounds for Taos, while Rodriguez added 16 points and had three of the Tigers鈥� eight 3-pointers.

鈥淥nce we started getting the ball inside, everything changed for us,鈥� Chavez said. 鈥淓arly on in the first quarter, we weren't getting many post touches. Once we were able to get the ball inside, not only was (Malakhai) able to start getting some of his, but it also opened up some of our shooters.鈥�