The thousands of yellow-clad Española Valley basketball fans rose in unison, spontaneously applauding the effort of the Española boys basketball team just moments after their beloved Sundevils lost to the Roswell Coyotes 63-60 in the Class AAAA championship game March 13 at the Pit in Albuquerque.
Dreams of the first state basketball title in school history ended when junior point guard Rodney Coles’ three-point attempt bounced off the front of the rim as time expired.
As the teams finished their post-game handshakes, Española senior guard Juan Trujillo collapsed on the floor in tears, comforted by teammate Richie Mondragon. Trujillo had been pounding his chest in the first half after sinking a three-pointer with 44 seconds left in the second quarter. The basket kicked off a furious 9-0 run that brought the Sundevils back from a 29-15 deficit to within five points of the Coyotes at halftime.
Trujillo’s shot awakened the estimated 10,000 Española fans, who helped fill the Pit to its 14,000-seat capacity and covered three-fourths of the arena in a sea of yellow. They had come to cheer for the Sundevils, who were making their first state finals appearance. And they were never louder than in the waning seconds of the first half. Coles followed Trujillo’s basket with two free throws. Aaron Aragon canned two more charity tosses and reserve Antonio Romero’s putback made the score 29-24 at halftime. Romero had six points in the first half and finished with 10 coming off the bench
The Sundevils’ surge continued in the third quarter. Coles, who led all scorers with 20 points, canned a three-pointer to begin Española’s second-half scoring and his three-point play at 5:52 of the third quarter gave the Sundevils a 34-33 lead. A pair of free throws by Coles gave Española its biggest lead of the game 43-38 in the third quarter. Roswell point guard Keydrick Allen brought his team back within a point with a layup and a pair of free throws to make the score 43-42 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Coyotes went to the biggest gun in their arsenal. 6-foot-8-inch senior Marek Olesinski, to start the fourth quarter. He buried a three-pointer from the corner to give Roswell the lead and then followed with a driving layup and a free throw to put the Coyotes ahead 48-43. Baskets by 6-foot-7-inch A.J. Peralta and Allen extended Roswell’s lead to 52-45 in the fourth quarter.
Española trailed 56-49 when a three-point play by Coles started another Sundevils’ comeback. Senior 6-foot-5-inch post Gabriel Rodriguez, who battled against the taller Coyotes throughout the game and led all players with eight rebounds, took advantage of Peralta and Olesinski’s foul trouble. He drove through the big men for a pair of layups, the second tying the score at 56-56 with 2:35 left in the game.
“No factor,” Martinez said about the Coyotes’ size advantage. “We battled inside. They had their strengths. We had Gabe (Rodriguez) and Luis (Alvarado).”
A high-flying layup by Coles gave the Sundevils the lead 58-56 with 2:11 left to play.
Allen tied the score with a reverse layup, but Española had the ball with less than two minutes left to play. Coles patiently dribbled the ball near midcourt as the Sundevils spread the floor. Coles made his move, but an official’s whistle stopped him. He had been called for palming the ball and Roswell regained possession.
“It changed the game completely,” Coles said. “We had the ball and we had momentum on our side. The ref made a carry on me when I never picked up the ball. I was really confused about why he made the call. It was like we had to play from behind again because they had the momentum.”
Roswell’s Robert Orona was fouled with 1:17 left to play and he sank a free throw to give the Coyotes a 59-58 lead. Española’s Luis Alvarado drove down the lane for a layup, giving the Sundevils the lead with 56 seconds left in the game. The Coyotes wasted no time in answering, pushing the ball downcourt to Peralta. His short one-handed jumper from the left side of the lane gave Roswell a one-point lead with 31 seconds left.
“We wanted to answer just as quick as we could,” Roswell coach Brit Cooper said.
Alvarado threw up a three-pointer with 28 seconds left that rattled in and out. The rebound looked to be headed to Española’s Aragon, but Olesinski reached up and got his hands on it. With both players clutching the ball, the officials called a jump ball. The fateful possession arrow pointed in Roswell’s favor with 6.2 seconds left.
The Coyotes inbounded the ball to Olesinski, whom the Sundevils fouled with five seconds left. He sank both free throws to give Roswell a 63-60 lead.
Coles took the inbounds pass and drove downcourt. From 25-feet away, he pulled up and launched a long three-pointer that would have sent the game into overtime. All the eyes of the crowd followed the flight of the ball, which looked to be on target. It bounced off the front of the rim as Roswell survived to claim its second straight Class AAAA state championship.
“I was coming upcourt and I had a good look,” Coles said. “It left my hand perfect. It was short.”
The championship game between the Coyotes and Sundevils had been eagerly anticipated. Roswell and Española have been ranked first and second, respectively, in Class AAAA all season, and they did not disappoint the crowd with a game for the ages.
“To get (Española) this year, that’s what everybody’s been talking about in the papers,” Cooper said. “The crowd speaks for itself. They turned away a lot more. They got their money’s worth.”
Call Questioned
After the game in the media interview room. Española coach Richard Martinez immediately criticized the call on Coles.
“What’s hard for me to swallow is you battle for 32 minutes and it boils down to a pussy call in a critical moment,” Martinez said. “Everybody is in position and it comes down to a — carry. Unbelievable. That call really changed the game.”
Martinez was feeling the pain of once more being denied the championship he, his players and the Sundevils’ fans most-desperately wanted. He also mentioned a call in last season’s loss in the state semifinal game against Artesia that ended with a triple-overtime 58-56 win in the 2009 semifinals when the ball appeared to bounce out of bounds off an Artesia’s player’s face, but was awarded to Artesia. He mentioned Mike Torrez fouling out of Española’s 57-56 overtime loss in 2008 to Albuquerque Academy.
“My players are held accountable,” he said the following day. “I’m held accountable. We need officials to be held accountable.”
Martinez stressed at the interview the timing of the call was what hurt the most.
“Listen to what I’m saying,” Martinez said. “I am not happy at the time. You can get a foul. You can get a push, but not a carry for God sake.”
As the interview wound down, Martinez reflected on the season, next season and what basketball means to the Valley.
“You know, when we go home we’re not going to have a blue trophy hanging on the mantle,” he said. “But we will have each other. We’re going to have our fans, families and our kids. We’re going to unite again and we’re going to come back here again and we’re going to battle again.”
The sad and tear-streaked faces of Coles, Alvarado and Aragon seemed to ease a little as the interview neared its conclusion. The players seemed to be able to put their sorrow behind them and reflect on what it was like to play for Española and feel the support of the Valley’s fans behind them.
“It was a blast,” Aragon said.