Celebrated Saturday at the Pit in Albuquerque for their Class 3A State Championship win, from left, Antonio Vigil, Chris Jackson, Damian Ebanks, Jake Sena, Jason Grimes, Scott Willerton, Travis Jones, Ken Martinez, Mark McGregor and Head Coach Terry Hiller. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
SPORTS News:
The gang showed up in good numbers for the 25th anniversary of one of the all-time highlights in Los Alamos High School (LAHS) sports history.
In 2000, the Hilltopper boys basketball team earned the Class 3A state championship, the most recent time the Hilltopper boys won it all.
The 25th anniversary of that tournament win, capped by a rout of the Aztec Tigers, was the last time the program has reached the state title or state semifinal contest.
On hand at the ceremony, held at the half of this year’s 4A championship game between Artesia and Highland at The Pit in Albuquerque, were seven Hilltopper players, along with head coach Terry Hiller.
Los Alamos’ team, which went 25-3 that 1999-2000 season, was led by 7-foot center Chris Jackson, who was named the New Mexico player of the year. Jackson dominated the paint throughout his high school career and went on to play collegiate hoops for the University of Utah.
Jackson was in attendance Saturday at the Pit, as were teammates Antonio Vigil, Jake Sena, Jason Grimes, Scott Willerton, Damian Ebanks and Travis Jones.
The 2000 boys basketball tournament was played at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces, one of the few times the tournament had been played outside of Albuquerque.
The championship game was delayed in the third quarter due to a statewide power outage. Before the power outage, the game was competitive, but following the approximately 45-minute delay, the Hilltoppers broke open the game to cruise to a 69-45 victory.
Despite the lopsided championship game win, the tournament was something of a struggle. Los Alamos trailed big after three quarters to both first round opponent Ruidoso and second round opponent Kirtland Central before mounting fourth quarter comebacks in both contests to stay alive and ultimately reach the title game.
