“That wasn’t Boeheim’s 2-3 zone. That was Branch’s 2-3 zone,” Española Valley High School boys basketball head coach James Branch said, jokingly.
He chuckled for a moment, reflecting on his halftime decision to take a note out of long-time Syracuse University head coach Jim Boeheim’s defensive playbook.
All joking aside, the second half defensive switch gave the Sundevils new life, as they went from being down four points at the halftime whistle, to grabbing an ultimate nine-point lead, when the game ended.
The Sundevils finished with their fifth win of the season, defeating the Santa Fe High School Demons, 64-55, in what was the home opener for Española.
The extended 2-3 zone defense took the Santa Fe guards out of the game. The perimeter shooting had been a problem for the entire first half, as Demon guards Isaiah Anderman and Antonio Lovato had each hit two three-pointers in the first half.
“That was the adjustment that won the game,” Branch said. “It’s amazing how simple the game can be.”
The Sundevils pulled off the defensive switch with next to no preparation. In fact, it was the first time they had utilized the system in a game situation.
“We were struggling, maybe with what we were doing in the first half,” senior Azaziah Salazar said. “We came into the locker room and we figured that we would try something different — maybe throw something that they didn’t see. That’s the first time that we ran it all year and it actually worked out pretty well.”
Española went into the locker room at halftime, needing a spark. They trailed for the majority of the first and second quarters. They were never down by more than six points, but could not establish any type of lead.
Ryan Trujillo’s solo bucket to close out the first half put the Sundevils within four points of the Demons, with the score at 32-28.
The Española defense was the star of the show in the third quarter, allowing Santa Fe eight points. Trujillo hit a three-pointer in the dying seconds of the quarter to give Española its first lead of three points or more in the game.
After that, the fourth quarter completely belonged to the Sundevils. They scored 23 points and the offense wore down the Santa Fe defense.
J.P. Sena and Salazar provided a dominant presence at the post, with Salazar showing off his array of post moves and Sena proving himself scrappy under the basket.
Salazar finished the game with 18 points and Sena had 15 points.
“Credit to the boys,” Branch said. “They kept their composure, even when we got down.”
This was the first game the Sundevils have played in their home gym since last March’s upset loss to Del Norte High School in the first round of the state tournament.
For the players, that loss was still on their minds.
“You really can’t say you are, but I was a little antsy,” Salazar said. “I just wanted to redeem ourselves from that Del Norte loss.”
So far, they are on to a better start than last season, with more dominant wins.
Last year, the Sundevils went 7-0 before they lost a game, but within that seven-game stretch, they had four wins by six points or less.
In these first five games of this season, they have had one game go that close — an overtime tournament victory against Silver City’s Silver High School.