The Española Valley Sundevils started the fourth quarter scoring six unanswered points and finished the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run to put away the Santa Fe Indian School Braves 77-63 in the championship game of the Taos tournament Dec. 5 in Taos. It was Española’s third consecutive title at Taos.
It didn’t come easily. The Braves bombarded the Sundevils with a barrage of three-pointers in the second quarter, sinking five long range bombs, including three by Matthew Montoya. The score was deadlocked 39-39 at halftime.
“They had some runs, we had some runs,” Española coach Richard Martinez said. “In every game there’s going to be a little turning point and it’s important to capitalize on it.”
The two teams battled back-and-forth in the first quarter, with the lead changing hands 10 times before Española’s Gabriel Rodriguez scored on a layup at the buzzer to give the Sundevils a 15-14 lead heading into the second quarter.
The Sundevils held a 26-20 lead when the Braves started bombing away. Darren Pedro started the barrage with a three-pointer from the corner. After a pair of free throws by Dulce’s Antoine Salazar, a pair of treys from the corner by Montoya finished off an 11-0 Braves surge that gave Indian School a 31-26 lead.
Española came back to take a 37-34 lead after a basket by Richie Mondragon. Montoya then buried another three-pointer and followed with a pair of free throws to gave the Braves a 39-37 lead. Rodriguez tied it up with a basket and the score was deadlocked 39-39 at halftime.
The third quarter was a seesaw battle as both teams took leads. Rodney Coles scored seven points and Luis Alvarado six for the Sundevils as Española found a way to shut down the Braves outside shooting.
“We did a better job of defending (Montoya),” Coles said. “We didn’t let him come open off the pick.”
Coles scored at the buzzer to give Española a 56-52 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Rodriguez scored to open the fourth quarter and consecutive turnovers by Indian School led to layups by Aaron Aragon and Coles to give Española a 62-52 lead. Holding a 70-63 lead late in the fourth quarter, Española went to its twins offense, spreading the floor trying to create lanes to the basket. Alvarado found one lane after taking a nice feed from Juan Trujillo and started a 7-0 run by the Sundevils that finished the game.
“We pulled the ball out and saw open lanes to the basket,” Coles said. “When you explode off the first step it breaks down the defense on the back side.”
Coles and Alvarado each scored 20 points to lead the Sundevils. Rodriguez added 14 points. Montoya led Indian School with 16 points, while Jamal Anderson had 12 and Jody Atencio 11 for the Braves.
Española had defeated Robertson 76-62 Dec. 4 in the semifinals to advance to the championship game. The Sundevils outscored the Cardinals 27-10 in the third quarter to break open a game that had been tied 32-32 at halftime. Coles had 16 points to lead Española, while Rodriguez scored 14, Fabian Valdez 13 and Jacob Serrano 11 for Española.
The Sundevils face a stiff test Thursday (12/10) when they take on Manzano in the opening round of the Joe Armijo Classic at Albuquerque Academy. Manzano is the second-ranked Class AAAAA team in the statewide coach’s poll. The Sundevils are ranked third in the poll in Class AAAA. Their next game in the tournament could be even tougher, as they will face either defending Class AAA state champion Hope Christian or defending Class AAAAA state champion La Cueva Friday.