The Española Valley Sundevils suffered their first loss of the season Dec. 12 in the semifinals of the Capital City Invitational but bounced back the following day to beat Los Lunas 59-50 in the third-place game in Santa Fe.
“It’s tough to play for third place,” Española coach Richard Martinez said. ‘The kids are tired, and I’m going to rest them up so they can be ready to go.”
The Sundevils were fighting for third place after they lost 58-45 to the powerful Pueblo South Colts in the semifinals in a game dominated by the Colorado team’s inside play.
The game against Los Lunas ended another busy week for Española. The Sundevils won the Taos Invitational Dec. 6 and the Capital city was their second tournament in as many weeks. Española faces West Las Vegas Tuesday and will defend its title at the Jaguar Invitational beginning Thursday (12/18) in Santa Fe.
“I don’t like to find excuses,” Martinez said. “Tonight (Dec. 13), we almost found one.”
The Sundevils were sluggish in the first quarter against Los Lunas. The Tigers took a 12-4 lead after two three-pointers by Max Walter and led 16-12 heading into the second quarter.
Española went ahead 19-18 after a basket by James Flores in the second quarter and the lead changed hands four more times until a pair of free throws by Ray Romero and a three-pointer by Luis Alvarado gave the Sundevils a 28-24 lead. The Tigers came back to tie the score, but Matt Brito buried a short jumper just before the buzzer to give Española a 30-28 lead at halftime.
The Sundevils extended their lead to 39-34 in the third quarter, but Los Lunas finished with an 8-1 run and led 42-40 heading into the fourth quarter.
Senior guard Donovan Maldonado stripped the ball away from the Tigers and drove in for a layup to tie the game at the beginning of the fourth quarter, and Alvarado followed with his second three-pointer to give the lead back to the Sundevils. Los Lunas cut the lead to a single point at 47-46, but Brito and Maldonado buried three-pointers to put Española ahead 53-48. The Sundevils held on for the victory.
“It feels good to take those pressure shots,” Maldonado said. “There’s no one I’d rather have take them than Matt or me.”
The Sundevils held Los Lunas scoreless from the field in the fourth quarter. The Tigers only points came from the free-throw line as Española outscored Los Lunas 19-9 in the final eight minutes.
Brito finished with 18 points and Maldonado added 16. Alvarado, the only junior in a starting lineup that includes four seniors, chipped in 17 points.
“He showed up tonight and came ready to play,” Maldonado said.
First Loss
The Pueblo South Colts are the top-ranked team in Colorado’s Class AAAA, according to coach Kevin Lockett. Española learned why when the Colts handed Española its first loss of the season.
Pueblo would go on to defeat host Santa Fe 52-42 Dec. 13 in the championship game.
“They’re real patient,” Maldonado said. “They worked for the best shot they could get.”
Lockett confirmed that that’s the style the Colts like to play.
“We work hard on patience and discipline,” he said. “Getting the shots we want in our offense.”
The shot they wanted usually ended up being a layup, If the layup missed, Pueblo was often in position for a rebound and a putback basket over the smaller Sundevils.
“I don’t recall them making a jump shot,” Brito said. “Most of their shots were point blank.”
Española established an early 5-0 lead after a three-pointer by Maldonado, which he followed with a steal and layup. The Colts came back and held a 10-9 lead at the end of the first quarter and extended their advantage to 28-16 at halftime.
Española cut the lead to nine points in the third quarter, but Pueblo put together a 10-0 run and led comfortably for the rest of the game.
The Colts have now won three of the last four Capital City titles. They won back-to-back championships in 2005 and 2006 but were upset by Capital in last year’s tournament in the opening round.
“I hope we keep coming back after I’m gone,” Lockett said. “They couldn’t be more accommodating.”
Lockett said that this will be his last season at Pueblo. He has a veteran ballclub of six seniors and three juniors.
“I couldn’t pick a better bunch to go out with,” he said.
The Sundevils had nine three-pointers and only five field goals for the game.
Maldonado was the only Sundevil to hit double figures, scoring 18 points.
“We can learn a lot from this loss,” Maldonado said. “Nobody likes to lose and maybe it will make us work a little bit harder.”