The Dulce High School Hawks passed the basketball around the perimeter. The ball went wide, left, before hitting an open Justin Phone near the free-throw line.
He swiveled around and knocked down an easy jumper — the Española Valley High School junior varsity defense was just too far away to pressure him.
The ball swished and as a result, Dulce collected the lead, 48-47, going into the final stretch of this semi-final game, Dec. 1, at the Santa Fe Indian School tournament.
The Sundevils slowed after building an early lead, and as the game dragged on, they tried to see it out. The Hawks did not allow the Sundevils any room for complacency, though.
“Our guys started treating it as a stall and we weren’t attacking the basket,” Española junior varsity head coach Dennis Archuleta said. “So, they (Dulce) got a few steals and they got right back into the game.”
That would be the only lead the Hawks would hold for the rest of the game. They ended up losing the semi-final game, 68-55, and Española advanced to the championship game.
John Garcia, a forward for Española, along with guard Christian Aizpuro, made the crucial plays down the stretch, to make sure the Sundevils were able to separate themselves from the Hawks on the scoreline.
They were both able to draw a number of fouls. Garcia made a total of five points off free-throws in the fourth quarter and Aizpuro made six free-throws in the same quarter.
Those free-throws, with some added defensive intensity, made for the 12-point differential between the two teams at the final whistle.
“It always feels great to have a ‘W,’” Archuleta said. “There’s no better feeling than winning a game, especially when you have a JV playing a varsity team. I tell the kids, ‘Regardless of the level, a varsity team is a varsity team. Because you’re playing juniors and seniors.”
For Shane Valdez, Dulce’s head coach, the loss exemplified his players’ need to attain some valuable experience, as he lost a crucial senior class, last year.
“Part of the process is going to be that they need playing time on the court,” he said.
Two seniors with some of the most varsity experience from last season were the score leaders for Dulce. Scott Chavez netted 16 points and Phone had 14.
Last year, the Hawks made it to the state tournament semi-finals, but this year, they have a new line-up.
Despite that, Valdez sees similarities between the two teams, and last season’s team was also sent to the loser’s bracket of this same exact tournament.
The Hawks also ran into an Española junior varsity team that has an embarrassment of riches, when it comes to talent.
Since the varsity squad is made up of eight seniors, a good amount of younger players, who would make varsity in any other year, are on the junior varsity team.
“When you’ve got as many seniors as we do at the varsity level, that opens up the door for the JV team to have some quality juniors and sophomores,” Archuleta said.
Aizpuro finished the game with 27 points, a bit less than half of the team’s total points. Garcia and Luis Molina each had nine points.
Championship game
Even though the Hawks lost, the close nature of the game made an impact on the Sundevils, as they advanced into the tournament’s championship game, Dec. 2, against Santa Fe Indian School.
Española lost its first game of the tournament, as the Sundevils played the Braves, with a final score of 74-66.
“It’s not that we had too many games, they (Santa Fe Indian School) had just as many,” Archuleta said. “But, I don’t think they had to work as hard for their victories, as we did for ours.”
For the most part, the game was close. The Braves were dominant in the first quarter, finishing with a 24-13 lead.
Then, the Sundevils took over in the second quarter, closing the scoreline the Braves built and coming within two points at halftime.
The second half was similarly competitive, but still, the Braves held the slight edge over the Sundevils and they grabbed the win as a result.
“They were stronger, they were faster and they were getting to those loose balls,” Archuleta said. “They out-rebounded us. They were a good team and they played well. I’m not sure if we were intimidated, or what was going on with us, but I don’t think we played our best game, either.”
Española was the only junior varsity team in the tournament.
The Sundevils claimed runner-up in a field of varsity squads that included Dulce, Santa Fe Preparatory School, Mesa Vista High School, To’hajiilee Community School, near Laguna Pueblo, Peñasco High School, Native American Community Academy, from Albuquerque; and Santa Fe Indian School.
Of those varsity teams, all compete in divisions 2A or 3A, except for Santa Fe Indian School, which is in 4A.