The Coronado Leopards escaped Española Jan. 23 with a 44-36 victory over a stubborn McCurdy Bobcat team.
McCurdy had led 8-7 at the end of the first quarter and had whittled a 15-point third-quarter deficit to two points at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
“We played Coronado this summer, and they pounded us,” McCurdy coach Walter Bustos said. “I told the team before the game if we want to gain respect, we have to stand up and fight. Here’s a chance to do it.”
Coronado started the game with a 6-0 run, but McCurdy scored eight unanswered points that could have been 12 if the Bobcats had not gone 0-of-4 from the free throw line. The Bobcats led 12-11 in the second quarter before the Leopards put together an 8-0 run to take a 19-13 lead at halftime.
Coronado’s Johnny Chavez scored the first seven points of the third quarter and teammate Jason Velasquez added a basket to give the Leopards a 28-13 lead. Randy Martinez jump-started a McCurdy comeback with eight unanswered points to slice into the Leopards’ lead.
Lawrence Gutierrez’s basket to begin the fourth quarter completed a 13-0 McCurdy run and brought the Bobcats to within two points of Coronado.
Coronado crept ahead 33-28 and after another Gutierrez basket, Coronado post Pedro Valdez atoned for missing four straight free throws by burying a three-pointer, giving the Leopards a 36-30 lead. The Leopards held off McCurdy by going 6-of-6 from the free-throw line in the last two minutes of the game.
“We went a whole week with only one day of practice because of snow and school cancellations,” Coronado coach Ezau Rios said. “We were not sharp,”
Chavez led the Leopards with 18 points. Valdez added nine for Coronado. He is still recovering from a fractured elbow suffered Dec. 5 against Pecos.
“He’s a little hesitant still as far as attacking the basket,” Rios said. “He’s nowhere near where we need him to be.”
Martinez, Ryan Bustos and Gutierrez each scored 10 points for McCurdy.
Despite the loss, Bustos was optimistic about McCurdy’s chances in District 3AA. McCurdy opens district play Friday at Peñasco. The Panthers are 14-5 and were favored to win the district title.
“This game showed us that we can compete with these teams,” Bustos said. “We need to take the next step and try to beat these teams.”
Coronado beat Peñasco 71-55 Monday night in Gallina.
In the weekly New Mexico High School Coaches poll, Peñasco was ranked seventh and Coronado was tied for 10th with Monte del Sol in Class AA.