The Mesa Vista Trojans led wire-to-wire in the District 3AA championship game against Peñasco Feb. 28 in Ojo Caliente. The 64-51 victory gave the Trojans their second consecutive district title and the 20th district title in the school’s history.
It was the usual list of names that led the Trojans in scoring. Starters Jaime Cruz Jr. and Frankie Giron tallied 17 and 14 points, respectively, but it was the Trojans bench that came through at key times throughout the game when the Panthers would claw their way back into the game.
“We’ve needed our bench and they’ve exceeded our need,” Mesa Vista coach Thomas Vigil said. “They’ve gone above and beyond what we needed of them.”
Senior Mariano Trujillo labored long and hard on the Mesa Vista junior varsity squad and has finally earned a spot on the bench on this year’s varsity team. He and junior reserve Jaryd Anderson accounted for all of Mesa Vista’s 10 second-quarter points.
Anderson started the second quarter with a basket inside, but Peñasco scored four points to make it 22-13 in favor of the Trojans. Trujillo scored Mesa Vista’s next six points, going 4-of-4 from the free-throw line and scoring on a putback as he and Anderson spelled starters Adrian Coronado and Kris Buzzard.
“I just feed off what the team’s already doing,” Trujillo said.
The Trojans started missing their perimeter shots after taking a 28-16 lead. The Panthers came back at the free-throw line, sinking 6-of-10 to cut the Trojans lead in half. Mesa Vista needed a spark to finish the first half and halt the Panthers momentum. Anderson provided it with a putback that gave the Trojans a 30-22 lead at halftime.
In the third quarter, Peñasco chipped away at the Trojans’ lead behind Brandon Gurulé, who tallied 10 third-quarter points and would lead all scores with 18 points. Gurulé fought for position inside with Buzzard, who eventually fouled out, and powered his way to the basket when he got his hands on the ball. The Panthers were within five points of the Trojans heading into the fourth quarter.
Peñasco’s Joseph “Jo Jo” Gurulé nailed a three-pointer to begin the fourth quarter and the Panthers trailed by just two points 43-41. Vigil called on his bench again and sophomore guard Eric Garcia answered the call.
Taking over the point guard spot while Giron rested, Garcia drove the length of the court and took the ball hard to the basket, sinking a driving layup.
“If (Peñasco) had tied it up or gone ahead, the wind would have shifted,” Vigil said. “The whole momentum would have shifted completely.”
Mesa Vista dominated the rest of the fourth quarter as its press finally wore down the Panthers.
The Trojans held Joseph Gurulé to just seven points. Gurulé had scored 34 points in the Panthers’ victory over Mesa Vista Feb. 20 that had ended the Trojans’ 13-game winning streak.
“We kept our defensive intensity throughout the game,” Trojan junior forward Estevan Trujillo said. “We were cutting off Jo on the drive.”
Mesa Vista is headed back to the Class AA state tournament hoping to accomplish more than they did last year, when the top-ranked Trojans were upset in the quarterfinals by Santa Rosa.
The Trojans host Mora Saturday in the opening round of the Class AA state tournament.
For Mariano Trujillo, who finished with 10 points, it will be his first trip to the state tournament wearing the Trojan’s jersey.
“I’m just glad that in my last year we get to do something,” he said.