For the second straight year, the Bobcats are surging late in the season.
McCurdy (13-12, 7-2 in district) has won eight of their last nine games and surged into second place in the district, a surprising turnaround, yet unsurprising given their recent history — a near-mirror performance of a season ago.
They now find themselves likely right on the edge of a potential state tournament appearance.
“We’ve kind of found who we were and how to play,” coach Ernesto Espinoza said. “They started believing in each other.”
McCurdy started the year at 3-8; they slogged through the first half of the season, including a 52-point loss to Academy for Technology and the Classics (18-6, 7-1) and a tough loss to Peñasco (5-16, 1-7) at the Northern Rio Grande tournament.
But a strong defense and a team effort have completely changed the results on the court.
Espinoza said he could not pick a single player who has stepped up, and everybody on the team has been contributing.
Young players Ryan Montoya and Lucas Martinez have been strong shooting the ball. Montoya hit clutch shots in an overtime win over Mesa Vista (13-11, 6-2), McCurdy’s best win of the season on Feb. 4. The Bobcats held Mesa Vista to just 45 points, their third-lowest output of the season, despite the extra time.
Most recently, the Bobcats won a 34-14 game over Questa (2-22, 0-8), and the game was ended early in the third quarter with the Bobcats up by 20 and snow starting to pile up outside. At the superintendent’s discretion, Questa conceded the game so the Bobcats could safely get on the road.
“A class act on his part,” McCurdy athletic director Robert Nevarez wrote in a text message.
McCurdy started the game with a 21-3 lead through the first quarter, and led by 34-13 at halftime.
Espinoza estimates that if they hold on to second place in the competitive district, the Bobcats could see themselves in the state tournament. To do so, they would likely have to beat Escalante (12-12, 6-2) on Saturday to close out the regular season. The Lobos beat the Bobcats by nine points on Feb. 2.
“If we can get ourselves into the state tournament, I think we can make some noise,” he said.