Photo by Michael J. GallegosTribune

Tribune

Highland's Xavier Blount (20) is surrounded by celebrating Manzano Monarchs - including Mark Tenorio (right) - as he walks off the court at the end of their Tuesday night game at Albuquerque Academy. Manzano rallied late to upset Highland 58-56. Blount, a transfer from Hope Christian playing in his first game as a Hornet, scored a game-high 18.

Photo by Michael J. GallegosTribune

Tribune

Highland's Marcus Franco (right) pressures Manzano's Jordan Burd as he dribbles up the court. The Monarchs rallied from nine points down to beat the Hornets. They face the host Chargers tonight in the final of the Albuquerque Academy Tip-Off Classic.

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Highland High newcomer Xavier Blount swatted a Manzano shot attempt into the third row of bleachers in the first half, drawing giddy chants of "Who's Your Daddy?" from the Hornets in the crowd.

But the Monarchs were the ones crowing at the end as Manzano rallied from a nine-point deficit to take a thrilling 58-56 victory in the first round of the Albuquerque Academy Tip-Off Classic on Tuesday night.

Host Albuquerque Academy defeated Valley 61-52 in the other first-round boys basketball game.

The Chargers and Monarchs will meet for the tournament title at 7 tonight.

Blount, a high-profile 6-foot-4 junior transfer from Hope Christian, was playing in his first game with Highland.

Teaming with highly touted 6-6 junior guard/forward Chad Adams, the two Hornets form one of the city's most potent duos.

Blount helped the Huskies to a state runner-up finish last season, and showed his skills with a game-high 18 points, a pair of blocks and several steals.

He also fed Adams on a fast-break dunk that stirred the crowd, and the two nearly connected on an alley-oop play. Adams totaled 10 points, but scored just one basket after halftime and played much of the fourth quarter while suffering from leg cramps.

The flash of Highland was countered by the splash of Manzano 3-pointers and a dash of defense thrown in for good measure.

Manzano connected on seven 3-pointers and kept Highland's two stars from taking control of the game until the Monarchs could stage a late comeback.

"It's a team game; two guys can't do it by themselves," said Manzano junior guard Ryan Gesiakowski, who scored all of his 11 points during the fourth-quarter rally.

"Chad and X (Blount) are good players, but we're a team. We kept playing and made some key plays at the end to win."

The Monarchs trailed 18-7 after the first quarter and 25-18 at halftime. They didn't take their first lead until a pair of free throws by Gesiakowski put them up 55-54 with 28.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

Highland recaptured the lead with two free throws by Marcus Franco with 21.5 seconds left to play. Manzano responded with a driving layup by Jordan Burd with 15 seconds to go.

After a Highland timeout with 12.2 seconds to play, Franco penetrated through the Manzano defense and put up a leaning, double-pump layup for the potential game-winner.

The shot hit the right side of the rim and fell off.

A frenzied scramble under the basket for the rebound resulted in a Highland foul with 1.3 seconds to play.

Manzano's Mark Tenorio hit the first of two free throws for the final margin. Franco's half-court heave at the buzzer landed short.

"We came into the game with all this hype," Blount said. "Now we've got to go out, be humble and prove to people we're still one of the top teams."

Highland will face Valley in tonight's consolation game.

"Chad and Xavier might be the two best players on the court," said Highland coach Danny Brown. "But Manzano made the plays down the stretch. They were the better team. We didn't handle the adversity at the end like we should have."

First-year Manzano head coach Travis Julian said Blount and Adams will be a handful for teams to stop this season. At least for one game, the Monarchs found an answer.

"We pride ourselves on defense," Julian said. "They (Hornets) jumped on us early. They are super-talented and super-athletic. I was proud of our kids, that they were able to weather the storm at the beginning."