Ortiz Drops 30 as East Mountain Timberwolves Advance

SANDIA PARK — Vicente J. Ortiz erupted for 30 points to lead the East Mountain Timberwolves to a 62-41 victory over the Cuba Rams in the opening round of the District 5-3A tournament on Tuesday night at the Vista Grande Community Center.

Despite a sluggish start, the top-seeded Timberwolves (24-2) overwhelmed the Rams (6-21) with a dominant middle two quarters, outscoring Cuba 39-18 during that stretch to secure a spot in the district semifinals.

Ortiz was the story of the night, connecting on six 3-pointers. He was particularly lethal in the second quarter, where he accounted for 16 of East Mountain’s 21 points to help push a modest 14-7 first-quarter lead into a 35-13 cushion by halftime.

“He shot it great tonight. That certainly helped our cause,” East Mountain coach Brad Hofmann said. “He got it going and did a good job taking good shots. I thought he really got pretty good looks most of the night. The way to stay hot as a shooter is to keep taking good shots.”

The Timberwolves extended the lead to 53-25 by the end of the third quarter before rotating through their roster in the final frame. Aiden Erickson joined Ortiz in double figures with 11 points, while Damion Reyes and Eric Hofmann each added seven. Reyes, Erickson, and Hofmann all contributed a 3-pointer to the Timberwolves’ perimeter attack.

While the margin was comfortable, Hofmann was critical of his team’s early energy and ball security. The Timberwolves struggled with “lackadaisical” passing, a point of contention the players addressed themselves before the coach even reached the locker room.

“We were cold and just lethargic,” Hofmann said. “We threw into hands way too much. We didn’t protect the ball. We had some [passes] that were just not focused, not engaged. Coaches will be focusing tomorrow on passing drills for sure.”

East Mountain continued to show its depth, starting Tony Cintron-Warren as they navigated a lineup that has been missing key starters for several weeks.

“This group has played a lot of basketball together,” Hofmann said of the lineup shifts. “I wasn’t too worried about us being ready to do something like that. We got everybody to run, which is great.”

The Timberwolves now move on to host Sandia Prep (13-13) in the second round. The Sundevils advanced Tuesday with a 57-48 win over Cottonwood Classical Prep.

“Now is not the time to relax,” Hofmann said. “It’s stay focused and keep working on getting better—little things, little details—because that’s what wins this time of year.”

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BOX SCORE

Cuba (41) — 7, 6, 12, 16 East Mountain (62) — 14, 21, 18, 9

East Mountain Scoring: Vicente J. Ortiz 30, Aiden Erickson 11, Damion Reyes 7, Eric Hofmann 7, Eli Conklin 4, Quinlan Gwyther 2, Hunter Chancellor 1.