The Española Valley Sundevils escaped the wintry weather of Northern New Mexico last weekend and continued to sizzle in Southern New Mexico.
Española, a Class AAAA team, defeated two ranked teams in Class AAAAA to improve to 18-1 on the season and 9-1 against Class AAAAA opponents.
While teams were canceling games due to snow in Rio Arriba County, the Sundevils beat the eighth-ranked Clovis Wildcats 71-67 Jan. 22 in Clovis and knocked off fourth-ranked Hobbs 68-65 Jan. 23 in Hobbs. In both games, the Sundevils came from behind to beat teams in hostile gyms.
“This team just wills themselves to win,” Española coach Richard Martinez said. “To go down there and beat those great programs, it’s big for us and the Valley.”
The Wildcats presented a big challenge with a lineup that featured 6-foot-8-inch senior Logan Turnbow. Clovis, which has accumulated 13 state football titles, tried to out-muscle the Sundevils.
“They were a lot more physical than Hobbs,” Española assistant coach Ray Romero said.
The Wildcats and Sundevils battled to a 19-19 tie in the first quarter. After Sundevil forward Luis Alvarado canned a three-pointer to give the Sundevils the lead, Clovis rattled off 11 unanswered points. Española surged back behind a pair of three-pointers by point guard Rodney Coles to grab a 36-34 lead at halftime.
The Wildcats had a 51-50 lead at the end of the third quarter, but Española pressed Clovis and created turnovers in the fourth quarter to take the lead with less than two minutes left to play. The Sundevils sank 10-of-10 free throws in the final quarter to seal the victory.
Coles led Española with 24 points. Aaron Aragon had 13, Gabriel Rodriguez 12 and Alvarado 11 points.
While Clovis is a gridiron school, Hobbs has a great basketball program, with 16 state titles to its credit. The Eagles wasted no time in jumping all over Española. Shelby Reeves started the game with a dunk and Zach Enriquez sank three three-pointers in the first half.
“We tried to run with them,” Romero said. “They were really hot and they were hitting everything.”
The Eagles raced out to a 24-14 lead in the first quarter and led by 15 points 41-26 at halftime. The Eagles finished the first half shooting 50 percent from the field, while Española made a paltry 22 percent of its field goal attempts, according to Romero.
“We weren’t getting back on defense,” guard Rodney Coles said. “They were getting layup after layup.”
After trying to press the Eagles in the first half, the Sundevils switched tactics and dropped back into a half-court defense. The Sundevils cut the Hobbs lead to four points heading into the fourth quarter.
“We went to 1-2-2 zone and they really struggled against it,” Coles said. “Their guards had trouble penetrating.”
The Sundevils outscored the Eagles 17-10 in the fourth quarter for a 68-65 victory. Coles led the Sundevils with 27 points, while Alvarado added 15 points.
“What a part of history,” Martinez said. “Years from now these kids will reflect on what they’ve done and realize what a moment it was.”
Hobbs was a good measuring stick for the second-ranked Sundevils. Roswell, the top ranked team in Class AAAA, beat Hobbs 68-58 in Roswell.
The Sundevils will face another big foe Friday when they travel to Los Alamos to take on the Hilltoppers, which are led by 6-foot-11-inch senior Alex Kirk. Kirk is headed to the University of New Mexico next fall to play for the Division I Lobos.
The Sundevils need to contain Kirk if they are to beat their District 2AAAA rival.
“He’ll get his points,” Martinez said. “We can’t let him go off for 40 (points),”
Los Alamos is 13-5 on the season and ranked sixth in the state.