SILVER CITY There is a buzz in the air around Silver City. March Madness is normally reserved for college hoops, but, over at Silver High School, March Madness is alive and well on its way as the Fighting Colts are in the state playoffs after winning a District 3-3A title that gave them a shot at hosting a first-round game in the Class 3A event.Typically, people are settling on baseball fever, after the high schools have won some individual wrestling titles and with the Colts vying for a team title year after year. But, move over bats and balls and head gears and mats, because Silver High s basketball squad is galloping through its competition, having won its last 12-of-13 games.Head coach Brandon Siqueiros is reaping the rewards of having his seniors come to life down the stretch of the season. His team is finally healthy enough to put four quarters of defense and offense together, and they are finding a way of finishing off games or coming back and winning those games they were losing early on.It s been a long and sometimes frustrating season for the Colts. They lost a key player (Brandon Reese) mid-way through the season, and trying to find a replacement has been a tough task. I don t think Reese can be replaced, but in basketball if you can get five guys out on the court working harmoniously then they can actually make losing a player like Reese a lot more easy to deal with.But, with all the hype, Siqueiros has remained balanced, and hasn t put his kids on a pedestal yet. The Colts didn t cruise through the district, but they did go a perfect 9-0, having beaten Socorro three times and Hot Springs twice. That is a huge task in itself. But, there is no best of five series at state. You get one shot and Silver will have to remain hungry and on task in order to get by No. 10 Wingate come Saturday.Senior Alex Lopez has had an outstanding year, leading the Colts in scoring in mostly every game. But, in the district championship, point guard Adam Kesler stepped up to the plate, delivering the game-winning blow inside five seconds to play. Let s not forget the fact that the Colts shot lights out at the free-throw line, going 8-of-10 in the fourth period. Michael Arsola also paced Silver with 13 points in that contest. So there were several other factors that helped the Colts win this district championship. Everything came together at the right time, and that s what is going to be needed for Silver to get by Wingate.A win at home Saturday would propel the Colts into Albuquerque on Wednesday, March 7, against the winner of No. 2 St. Michael s and No. 15 Thoreau. That game will be the quarterfinals, and just remember that anything can happen at state. The old saying of That s why you play the game, holds true year after year. When Saturday comes, expect for Siqueiros and company to give it their all, let s just make sure that Silver High has a following at the gym and its rocking to give the Colts a true home court advantage. After all, that s what they have earned.Danny Udero may be reached at (575) 538-5893.