The Española Valley Sundevils, along with their fans, invaded Los Alamos Jan. 29 and conquered the Hilltoppers 65-52 to strengthen their position as the team to beat in District 2AAAA.
The fifth-ranked Hilltoppers, with future University of New Mexico Lobo 6-foot-11-inch Alex Kirk at post, were considered to be Española’s toughest competition for the Sundevils fourth consecutive district title.
“It’s a big win in our district,” Sundevil senior Luis Alvarado said. “Especially an away game.”
Kirk had his moments, swatting away nine Española shots, but the relentless Española attack proved to be too much for the Hilltoppers.
“He’s not going to block them all,” Española senior Aaron Aragon said. “He’s human.”
After a Kirk putback dunk tied the score at 4-4 in the first quarter and had the Hilltopper crowd cheering, Aragon entered the game and ignited a 9-0 Española run. He was one of several substitutions that coach Richard Martinez made after he felt his team wasn’t playing up to his expectations.
“I felt we weren’t playing hard enough,” Martinez said. “If you’re not playing hard enough, you’re going to sit.”
A three-pointer by Aragon gave the Sundevils a 9-4 lead, and he finished off the run with a jumper. He added another three-pointer later in the first quarter.
“I came out firing,” Aragon said. “That’s what I wanted to do.”
Española had a 26-17 lead when Kirk stopped several shots to help Los Alamos close the first half with a 7-2 run.
The Sundevils came out strong in the third quarter. The Sundevils created nine turnovers and a basket by Richie Mondragon with five seconds left gave Española a 45-33 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
“We made some adjustments at halftime and hit them with a few traps up top.” Martinez said.
Alvarado started the fourth quarter by coming up with a turnover and led a 2-on-1 fast break. He flipped a behind-the-shoulder pass across the lane to Aragon for a layup that had Española fans rocking the gym.
Los Alamos narrowed the lead to nine points with less than five minutes left. But a layup by Aragon started a 8-0 Española run that gave Española its biggest lead of the game, 59-42. The Sundevils held off the Hilltoppers to claim a 3-0 record in District 2AAAA and sole possession of first place.
Aragon led the Sundevils with 14 points. Rodney Coles and Alvarado added 13 apiece.
“Aaron goes unseen like a lot of our players,” Martinez said. “He brings a lot of intangibles to the court for us.”
Española held Kirk to 17 points, eight off his season per game average.
Española hosts Bernalillo Wednesday (2/3) and Capital Saturday in District 2AAAA competition.