After four long years, the Coronado Leopards boys basketball team will finally get to play in March.
Coronado overcame a near-disastrous third-quarter scoring drought to beat the Escalante Lobos 52-44 in Gallina and clinch the regular season title in District 2AA. The Leopards also earned the right to host the District 2AA championship game and get an automatic berth in the opening round of the Class AA state tournament, which is scheduled to start March 9.
After beginning the season just 3-7, the Leopards have now extended their winning streak to seven games and are 14-10 overall. Coronado improved to 5-0 in District 2AA. Coronado last went to state in 2005.
“It’s because we started acting as a team and playing as a team,” junior post Pedro Valdez said.
The Leopards mangled the Lobos 18-5 in the first quarter behind eight points by Valdez and six more from point guard Patrick Cordova.
“That was a disaster,” Escalante coach Milnor Manzanares said. “We played pretty good in the second half, but we couldn’t overcome it.”
The Lobos managed to cut Coronado’s lead to eight points in the second quarter after back-to-back three-pointers by Justin Atencio and Devon Montoya. Jason Velasquez brought the Leopards back by canning a three-pointer and then finishing off a 9-0 Coronado run at the end of the first half with three free throws that gave the Leopards a 31-14 lead at halftime. All of Velasquez’s eight points came near the end of the second quarter.
Coronado only managed one point in the first six minutes and 36 seconds of the third quarter, while the Lobos scored 11 unanswered points to make the score 32-25 in favor of the Leopards. Coronado’s Johnny Chavez finally scored a layup with 1:24 left in the third quarter and added a three-point play with one second left that made the score 37-26 heading into the fourth quarter.
“The only reason it wasn’t a total disaster was our defense,” Coronado coach Ezau Rios said.
Escalante cut Coronado’s lead to seven points in the final quarter after J. T. Elwess scored on a driving layup and Montoya scored after receiving a long downcourt pass he turned into a second layup. However, the Leopards eventually extended their lead to 52-38 and held off the Lobos.
Just five players scored for the Leopards, but three of them were in double figures. Chavez led the way with 17 points, while Valdez had 13 and Cordova 12 for Coronado. Montoya scored 18 points for Escalante.
Escalante fell to 3-2 in District 2AA and finishes its regular season Feb. 21 at Dulce. Coronado wraps up its regular season Feb. 21 at Navajo Prep. Escalante will receive the second seed in the district tournament and host a semifinal game.