For nine seasons in a row, the Rio Rancho High School boys basketball team has spent three evenings in the Northeast Heights, playing in what was called the Academy Invitational when it began in 1977. The name was changed to the Joe Armijo Classic five years ago to honor the longtime Academy athletic director.

Last Saturday, the Rams (4-3) did something they’d never been able to do in their previous eight appearances: win the tournament championship.

“That’s the first time the boys have ever won that tournament,” coach Brian Smith said. “Even the championship team didn’t win it.”

Cameron Bopp (21) goes up for a rebound in the Rams' win over Los Alamos in a semifinal game of the Joe Armijo Classic.

The championship wasn’t the only highlight. Smith said beating Sandia (82-71 in a first-round game on Dec. 11), the team that handed them an opening-night loss in double overtime, was sweet, too.

“These guys were pretty hyped to play them,” he said. “I didn’t want them to focus on the revenge factor, I don’t want that to consume you. Go out and play hard. That’s what the guys are buying into. They’re having fun right now — some of the guys have said the way we’re playing is fun.”

Smith said he’s excited about his team’s depth, enhanced last weekend with the addition of Seth Baldwin and Josh Walker.

“I throw people off the bench and don’t lose anything,” he said. “I think going to Colorado (where the Rams went 0-3) helped us bond. They studied and ate together, played ball together.”

Smith, a coach who places value on that intangible “team chemistry,” said newcomer Devon Conley was en fuego in Saturday’s championship game, notching 15 of his game-high 26 points from behind the arc to help the Rams win their fourth game in a row, 85-76, over surprising Hope Christian.

The Huskies, claiming a win over 5A Eldorado earlier this month, beat three-time defending 4A champ St. Pius X 55-44 in a first-round game, then beat another quality 5A team, Clovis, 84-74, in a semifinal game, despite 35 points by Texas Tech-bound Wildcat Jaye Crockett. (Crockett scored 50 points against Los Alamos in helping Clovis win the third-place game and was named tournament MVP.)

“It was pretty convincing,” coach Brian Smith said of the victory over the Huskies. “Devon Conley was on fire the whole night.”

The rest of the team wasn’t too shabby, either: Smith said the Rams drained 10 of 13 shots from 3-point range.

That outburst included a trey by Cameron Bopp, who was finally ready to play after being sidelined with an ankle injury. Bopp, penciled in for a roster spot on the varsity, had made the trip to Colorado Springs for the three-game losing streak that started the season.

“On Friday, his only shot was a 3 and he hit it,” Smith said. “And Saturday he came off the bench and shot a 3 and made it.”

The Rams scored the game’s first five points, allowed an 11-0 run by the Huskies, then surged into the lead again and, Smith noted, “Once we got the lead toward the end of the first quarter we never looked back.”

Joining Conley in double figures were Josh Walker with 14 points and Jorel Johnson and P.J. Horgan, with 10 apiece. Josh Quintana and Nick Perro had seven apiece, Michael Apodaca had five, Bopp had three, Kyle Quintana had two and Zach Sanchez chipped in with one point.

Basically, the game was won at the free-throw line, where the Rams went 27 of 39 — including 20 of 30 in the second half — compared to the Huskies’ 16 of 27.

“Jorel got into foul trouble again,” Smith said. “(He’s been getting) some aggressively silly fouls — he plays hard, he’ll get a guy to go into a speed dribble, get in position and they’ll call him for a reach. Jorel’s a high-quality player and a guy we’ve got to have on the floor.”

Winning the title should help the Rams through a tough stretch that includes games in their own tournament, a trip to Las Cruces to face Oñate and Mayfield, and home games with La Cueva, Hobbs and Clovis.

“We have to have a tough mentality to go in and play the way we’re playing — (our schedule) is brutal. The main thing was is it helps them create their own identity,” Smith said. “They’ve been up and down early. Nobody knows who these guys are; they’ve got to cerate their own identity.”

Rams 69, Los Alamos 57: All the Rams had to do to get to the championship game was shut down the Hilltoppers’ 6-11 center, Alex Kirk.

Kirk showed early he wasn’t only going to dominate in the paint (where he found opposition from Horgan, Kyle Stephenson and Baldwin): his first two buckets were from beyond the arc.

By game’s end, Kirk had scored 40 points, including a 9-of-12 showing at the charity stripe.

“What we wrote on the board was I told them one guy can’t beat five,” Smith recalled. “He’ll get his; we’re not going to focus on him. The kids want to do their best against him. You’ve got to play as a unit. He’s smart, he understands the game, and he gets the ball to his teammates.”

The Rams trailed in the early going, 3-0, 5-2 and 7-4.

Rio Rancho then went on a 17-5 run and built a 10-point lead, 28-18, on a layup by Johnson.

The Hilltoppers got within six before halftime, then whittled the deficit to 40-37 before the Rams went on an 8-2 run to end the third period.

The ’Toppers could get no closer than seven the rest of the way.

Perro and Kyle Quintana combined to go six for six at the line in the final 1:49 to keep Los Alamos at bay.

Demonstrating their depth, the Rams got 28 points off the bench, while the ’Toppers managed only six points from reserves — and two starters combined for only two of their points.

Johnson and Horgan led the way with 15 apiece, Baldwin had 13 and Conley added 10. Perro scored eight, Kyle Quintana had four, Bopp had three and Walker contributed one.

Smith said he heard from another basketball coach who’d been at the Academy gym Friday to see Kirk.

“I got compliments from Cal coach Mike Montgomery, (who said), ‘They were fun to watch.’ That’s got to make you feel good, you’ve got a D-1 coach talking about your team.”

University of New Mexico coach Steve Alford was also in attendance, watching the highly-recruited Kirk.

Conley and Johnson were named to the all-tournament team, Smith said, noting he was puzzled that Horgan had been omitted.

The pathway to the title, Smith said, “hopefully built some momentum for Manzano and Highland,” which the Rams faced Friday and Saturday, respectively. “(Manzano) is a tough place to play. Then, obviously, Highland coming here is going to be tough as well.”

The Highland Hornets have UNM-bound standout Chad Adams and the Monzano Monarchs can boast of a victory over the Hornets.

The Rams are idle this week, but will host the 16-team New Mexico Oil & Gas Classic Dec. 29-31. The Rams meet Class AA Dulce at 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 29 at the RAC.