Mesa Vista has not one, but two teams in the state semifinals.
All year long, the boys and girls teams have been one-upping each other. And now they will cheer each other on in Rio Rancho as they seek state titles.
“It brings us all together as a school, and pushes each of our programs to strive just to do better,” said senior Marcos Martinez.
“It’s a testament to the hard work that we put in our community,” said boys coach Thomas Vigil. “It’s motivation. Our coaching staff, along with their coaching staff, is like a big, huge brotherhood. The girls have been an amazing student section for us. It’s a point of emphasis, and pride, that we have two programs that are chasing the ultimate dream at the same time. It shouldn’t be understated how good our kids in our community are.”
Led by 27 points from Jordan Gallegos, the No. 4 seed Trojans (24-5) won their quarterfinal game against No. 5 Rehoboth Christian (21-7) 66-54 in Rio Rancho on Wednesday. The Trojans advance to Friday’s semifinal game.
“As a team, we trust each and every player,” Martinez said. “If it’s Jordan’s turn, we’re going to give him the ball and trust him to score. If it’s my turn, my teammates trust me. We just have that brotherly bond. We don’t care who scores. We don’t care who gets minutes. As long as we win, and play together as a team.”
Rattling off the stat sheet after the game, Vigil was amazed. Jordan Gallegos finished with 27 points on 12-for-20 shooting. Martinez scored 15 with 11 rebounds and five assists, including 10-for-10 free-throw shooting.
“Holy smokes, no wonder I trust you to get the ball at the end of the game,” Vigil said to Martinez of his foul shots.
The team played disciplined on defense, committing just five fouls the entire game. They went away from a full-court press, as Vigil trusts their team’s halfcourt man. Offensively, Mesa Vista shot 56 percent.
“We don’t take bad shots,” Vigil said. “That’s because of the trust that they have in one another. We take really good shots.”
Gallegos was unstoppable the whole game — and his teammates knew well enough to often get him the ball and get out of the way.
“I thought of last year’s game,” Gallegos said. A first-round road loss. “At the start of the game, I had that initial thought of that loss. Whatever I can do to win.”
Gallegos has had a breakout year as a sophomore, taking the team on as his own. Part of his development has been the push of fellow post Salvador Saavedra every day in practice. Same for other positions, where they battle each other harder and harder every day.
“The goal is for iron to sharpen iron,” Vigil said. “To be the most competitive player that they’ll ever play against. And that’s really what they do. You should see our practices.”
The sophomore was hot from the very start. He scored the team’s first 12 points, leading the Trojans to a 15-11 lead after the first quarter. Then Mesa Vista started the second quarter with an 8-2 run. But Rehoboth finished the quarter strong to trail by five at halftime.
Again, Gallegos and the Trojans started a quarter hot. Their center had the team’s first eight points in the third quarter as they went up by 13. And they held that lead the rest of the game.
Late in the fourth quarter, Rehoboth kept threatening to make a run with 3-point shooting, but Mesa Vista, Martinez especially, hit their free throws to close out the win.
After the game, Mesa Vista will head back home before coming back later in the week. Many (if not all) players will drive themselves or with family and friends to and back from the girls game on Thursday, same as they did on Tuesday. They will remain each other’s biggest supporters.
“In our community, in our school, there’s people in those stands, there’s little kids that are going to remember this game and what those guys did for generations,” Vigil said.
Mesa Vista will play a semifinal at 11:30 a.m. on Friday in The Pit in Albuquerque against No. 1 Academy for Technology and the Classics. ATC is coached by former Mesa Vista coach Bobby Romero. Romero is confident that his team has the size to guard Gallegos.