Josiah Fresquez took the game into his own hands. In a tie game, he drove down the baseline. As time expired, Fresquez’s double-clutch reverse layup bounced off the glass and, to the Sundevils’ shock and dismay, fell through the hoop.
“Just a crazy, lucky shot,” said Española sophomore Jerek Duda.
After giving up a 16-point lead, the Española Sundevils (12-16) fell 57-55 at home to Los Alamos (10-16) on Thursday in their District 2-4A tournament game. After hitting a high at home against Taos, two straight second-half collapses have Española Valley now on the verge of missing the state tournament.
“I think we relaxed, took some bad shots, let them back in the game,” Española Coach Joey Trujillo said.
Early in the second half, everything was coming up Española. Two 3-pointers by Jayden Duran, sandwiching a missed dunk by Matthew Lovato, gave him four for the game and had the Sundevils ahead 37-21.
From that point, they were outscored 36-18, with the offense going stone cold.
“We just got comfortable,” Duda said.
In the first half, Española shot well (four 3-pointers) and Irvin Primero was dominant, with 10 points all in the post. Primero was shaken up in the second half, missed most of the third quarter, and did not score after returning.
Los Alamos finished the third quarter on a 19-7 run, and Española could do nothing to take back momentum. Duda hit a big basket early in the fourth quarter, but Los Alamos kept clawing back. Then, with under three minutes left, they took their first lead on free throws.
Duda hit a 3-pointer to tie the game with a minute left. Los Alamos looked to run down as much clock as possible, then hit two free throws.
With 16 seconds left, Duda hit a floater in the game for a second game-tying shot.
“I just had to try to carry and get it done,” Duda said. “Try to get our head back.”
But it was not enough, as Los Alamos went the length of the court and stole the win. And it was Fresquez and the Hilltoppers who had the game winner.
Duran led Española with 17 points. Duda had eight of his 13 points come in the fourth quarter.
Now, all Española can do is wait. Before the game, they were ranked No. 17 in MaxPreps. Recent bracketology from the Rez Dog Sports Instagram page had Española in the field, but their prospects appear dicey.
Trujillo expects the Sundevils to be in as a No. 15 or 16 seed, which would have them travel to Albuquerque to face one of the state’s top two teams.
Thursday Scores:
District 2-4A Girls Semifinal:
No. 2 Los Alamos 51, No. 3 Española Valley 40
District 5-2A Boys Semifinal:
No. 2 Escalante 46, No. 3 Mora 35
District 5-2A Girls Semifinal:
No. 2 Peñasco 45, No. 3 Questa 34
District 1-2A Boys Semifinal:
No. 2 Dulce 52, No. 3 Navajo Pine 45
District 7-1A Girls Semifinals:
No. 1 Jemez Valley 61, No. 4 Coronado 25
No. 2 Legacy Academy 34, No. 3 Evangel Christian / Oak Grove 30
Continental Athletic Conference First Round
Arkansas Baptist 58, Northern New Mexico 56