The third quarter of the boys basketball game between Española Valley and Kirtland Central was a two-part story.
It looked like the Broncos might run away with the game, starting with a 14-3 run to take an 11-point lead. But suddenly, the Sundevils started to rally back, led by a dunk from Matthew Lovato, and by the end of the quarter they were down just one, eventually leading to an overtime win. He said it was his third or fourth dunk of the season.
“It brings everyone up,” Lovato said. “I just was ready to hear the crowd.”
“Energy!” shouted teammate Kevin Coffeen from the hallway while Lovato was speaking.
Española Valley (6-11) has now won four of its last five games, after starting the year 2-10. They scored a big win in overtime over Kirtland Central (4-9) 72-65 on Jan. 12, and won by 41 the next day against Aztec (3-9). They will begin to gear up for district play, where they will seemingly have a chance against all their competition.
“We’re just bonded on the team more, outside and on the court,” Lovato said. He added that team-bonding lunches and activities have led to better play and more wins.
The Sundevils were without two starters against Kirtland in Irvin Primero, who was nursing a back injury, and Jerek Duda.
“We just came together as a team,” Lovato said. “We just had to adapt.”
Assistant coach Filiberto Dominguez (head coach Joey Trujillo was unavailable after the game) credited Emillio Samaniego with making big plays off the bench.
The Broncos won the tipoff, and scored first. The Sundevils answered, but were down 13-9 after one quarter. The first few minutes of the second quarter saw the Sundevils score more points than in all of the first, going on a 13-4 run, and they had the game tied at 27 at halftime.
“It seems like we come out of halftime a little bit flat in most games, and we dig ourselves a hole,” Dominguez said.
After the third quarter, Española started the fourth with a quick run to get to a six-point lead. But the Broncos clawed back, and hit two 3-pointers in the final minute in between Española’s free-throw makes to tie the game at 62-62. In the closing seconds Jayden Duran’s off-balance heave just missed off the rim, sending the game to overtime.
Kevin Coffeen gave the Sundevils a lead in overtime with a putback, and Duran scored a basket along with an intentional foul call (referees made a similar call in the junior varsity game). Then Coffeen scored again to put the game out of reach, and Española totaled 10 points in overtime.
Earlier in the evening, the Sundevils’ C team won 74-43, and the junior varsity team won 54-40.
Española won the next day at home over Aztec 67-26. The Sundevils’ next game comes at Santa Fe (12-3) on Thursday for their final non-district game.
“This is a big step toward winning the district,” Lovato said. “I think we’ll be 8-0 in districts.”
District 2-4A Preview
Pojoaque Valley (8-7) will enter district play as the favorites as they seek their best season since reclassifying to 4A. Led by a young core including Serafin Mendez and Joziah Salazar, the Elks have enough size to compete with big teams, though they have struggled at times in close games this year. They most recently cruised past Pecos in a 62-39 victory.
Los Alamos was the preseason consensus favorite, but have struggled with a 3-8 start to the season. Their best win, by far, came in the first game of the season against Bernalillo. Their worst loss came by 37 points to 6-7 St. Pius X. Guards Niko Garcia and Josiah Fresquez are looking to turn things around and reach the preseason expectations.
The Sundevils should be competitive, similar to last year, after a lot of losses against teams that also beat their district opponents, including Bernalillo, Albuquerque Academy and Santa Fe Indian. Recent wins, including a strong win over Bosque, could buoy Española to success, and they’ll have their sights set on Pojoaque and Los Alamos.
Defending district champion Taos (5-9) was expected to take a step back after losing star Daemon Ely, but it has been worse than anticipated. The Tigers are coming off a 30-point loss to Lovington, and have a bad loss to Socorro. A recent win over Goddard and a close game against Artesia, though, show potential for this team.
Moriarty (4-8) has struggled in basketball since joining this district. Their recent performances have included a 29-point loss to Portales, and a loss to Santa Fe Prep. All four of their wins this season have come against 1A or 2A teams. Junior Jordan Brown leads the team with nearly 20 points per game.
The district season starts on Jan. 23.