Coming off a back-to-back night of basketball would be a struggle for most teams, but for the Española Valley High School Sundevils, it’s a situation they hoped for, all year.
A chance to play and advance to the state championship was the task at hand. Española had breezed by Albuquerque’s St. Pius X, 61-41, on March 7, but knew to respect their opponents and not overlook them. Players knew they were going to have their hands full with the Artesia High School Bulldogs and that it was going to be a tough, competitive game.
The Sundevils were victorious, however, winning 63-59 in overtime, which advanced them to the finals on March 10.
Artesia had the size advantage against Española, but that would only come to be valuable on a few extra possessions where they grabbed offensive rebounds. The Bulldogs won the tip to start the game and quickly scored on their first attempt.
Española came out flat in the game, having three turnovers on their first three offensive possessions. It wasn’t until senior Isaiah Vigil scored a basket, with an Artesia defender closely guarding him, that the Sundevils finally got into a groove.
The game was loosely officiated early on, which meant both teams were playing a bit more aggressively.
Senior J.P. Sena was fearless in his will to score early on and turnovers by Artesia led to baskets made by senior Martin Gracia.
The balance of attacking the rim and taking perimeter shots is what kept the Bulldogs on their toes, even as they got outscored, 18-12 in the first quarter.
The second quarter started and the competition increased. Chris Fernandez scored the first points of the quarter for Española, but Artesia answered with six consecutive points to lower their deficit to two. The Sundevils shot four free throws in the quarter, but made only one.
Española never trailed in the quarter, they just persevered through Artesia’s tough effort.
The game seemed to be a bit too close for the Sundevils, who had controlled their turnovers, having three less than Artesia and having hit one more three-pointer than the Bulldogs.
Hitting five out of six attempted free throws kept Artesia in the game during the first quarter.
The first half concluded off a Gracia finger roll that didn’t make it through the net, which kept the Española lead at 30-26 at the break.
At the start of the second half, Artesia scored on their first possession, trimming the lead to two points.
Vigil had his rebuttal and hit back-to-back three-pointers, reclaiming an eight-point lead and forcing Artesia coach Michael Mondragon to call his first timeout of the new half. It seemed the timeout must have worked, because the Bulldogs scored following the timeout, with one of their set plays.
Española then split a pair of free throws and continued to hold Artesia in place the best they could.
However, the game turned into a grueling boxing match. Instead of throwing punches, both teams scored and counteracted with the opposition.
Artesia tied the game at 39 and took a slight momentum boost with them, after making a shot that made it into the basket and gave Española sophomore Zach Mascareñas his fifth foul.
Veteran leadership by senior A.Z. Salazar was in effect when he went to the free throw line, after being fouled. He made both free throws and restored the Española lead by two points.
Artesia wouldn’t back away from the fight quickly, though. They scored and evened the game at 41, with 15 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Remaining poised in the final moments of the quarter is what the Bulldogs did. They threw an outlet pass to score two points, but the lead was short-lived, as Española’s Ryan Trujillo went coast-to-coast with the ball and scored just as the buzzer sounded.
The fourth quarter began just like the third ended, with more action and more suspense. On Artesia’s first possession, they scored immediately and Vigil was fouled behind the perimeter, sending him to the line to knock down all three free throws.
The Bulldogs scored again and were sent to the charity line, but they only made one free throw.
Fernandez, who was fouled for Española, tried to play aggressively and came away with two made free throws in crunch time, that tied the game at 48.
After both free throws were made, a loud roar erupted from the excitement of the crowd and this made the coach for Artesia call a timeout, to reset.
Both teams came out of the huddle, but the Bulldogs had the ball and since they had just called a timeout, they scored three-points coming out of it. Doing anything they could to score points, Española went to the line and made one of their two shots. Playing to the tune of the audience was helping the Sundevils, as they forced Artesia to turn the ball over and capitalized on their mistakes.
Vigil hit the go-ahead three-pointer with about two minutes left to play in regulation.
The margin grew to a two-point lead when Fernandez sank one out of his two free throws.
However, Artesia didn’t fold when they had their chance at the line, executing both baskets, to tie the game at 53.
Less than a minute remained in regulation and Gracia was called for charging.
This sent waves of shock, panic and disgust through the crowd.
Artesia was awarded the basketball after the turnover, but in a rowdy situation, the Sundevils poked the ball out of their hands and into their own.
With 17 seconds, Española called timeout in hopes of drawing that game-winning goal.
The crowd was on their feet to see what kind of outcome they’d witness.
Española held onto the ball until the last possible moment, so they could let a shot roll off their fingertips. Vigil was given the ball, but came away missing a contested three-pointer from the top of the key.
This meant that overtime was needed.
In overtime, Española scored the first points, but from then on, they only allowed Artesia to make one field goal, although the Bulldogs were perfect from the free throw line.
The game was ultimately won by veteran players like Sena, who scored six of 10 points in overtime.
The leading scorers in the game for Española were Vigil, who had 15 points and contributed a lot for missing one-half of play the previous round, and a double-double 13 points, with 11 rebounds was scored by Sena.