ALBUQUERQUE — Flanked by top players Santiago Martinez and Jordan Gallegos, Mesa Vista boys basketball coach Thomas Vigil strode into the media room at The Pit on Saturday morning and placed the red, second place trophy prominently in the middle of the interview podium.
“I brought it to show that we’re walking out of here proud,” he said. “We got the red trophy and were a couple of plays away from the blue. We came for the blue, make no mistake about it. But as I told them in the locker room, it’s disappointing, but it is not a disappointment by any means. We walk out of here proud. These guys gave me everything they could all season long.”
The Class 2A championship game against Texico went down to the final play, and the third-seeded Trojans came up just a bit short in losing 66-65.
“But it was close. It was this close,” Vigil said, holding his thumb and forefinger a sliver apart. “Twenty more seconds, the way the momentum was going and maybe we hit a shot at the buzzer to win it. It was that close.”
Martinez finished with 23 points, including 12 in the final quarter as Mesa Vista (26-5) closed with a rush.
Gallegos, who fouled out with two minutes left, added 13 points with six rebounds, Salvador Saavedra had 10 points and six rebounds and Andres Valdez contributed nine points and six assists.
“In the 65-odd year history of our school, four have made it to this game. Four of them,” Vigil said. “The energy that you saw with them and the crowd, feeding off of one another, our crowd, was outstanding. Our people were outstanding. You didn’t hear them going crazy when we lost. I think they’re just really, really proud of these guys and they should be. We’ve got outstanding kids. They’re really good kids. And we’re going home with the red trophy. We’re all hurting. It stings. It stings like hell. But we’ve been on a helluva journey.”
It looked like the journey was going to end with a thud, however, as the Trojans were beset with foul troubles and shooting woes. They trailed 53-38 at the end of the third quarter and still trailed 60-45 with 5:50 remaining in the game.
But that’s when Vigil pulled out a pressing trap defense that made an immediate impact.
“We came out and started pressing a little more and all of sudden, things started going our way,” Vigil said. “Basketball is such a game of momentum. We had momentum. And we just ran out of time. One play short.”
To do it over, Vigil said he probably would have done things a little different.
“If I could go back and nitpick, because that’s what coaches do, I wish I had made that call earlier,” he said. “I had that in my back pocket in case we needed it and it seemed to rattle Texico.”
Indeed it did as the Trojans reeled off an 11-0 run over the next 3:35, cutting the gap to 60-56 after a 3-pointer from Ezequiel Navarez, who finished with 10 points.
Another 7-2 run made it 62-61 with 37.5 seconds left before Texico’s Alex Fuentes shot two foul shots. To that point, the Wolverines had gone 20-for-21 from the line, while Mesa Vista was 15-for-24.
Now trailing by three with 21 seconds left, Martinez tossed up a hurried 3-pointer that was well short. But Texico’s Jaheim Moses missed both free throws with 9.3 seconds left, giving the Trojans one last shot.
Martinez thought he saw an opening and rather than try a game-tying 3-pointer, he drove to the basket for a layup. The Wolverines backed off their defense and let him score and time ran out.
“I was just going for the foul call, to be honest,” he said in explaining his decision. “I heard my teammates yelling at me, ‘We need a 3,’ I let it shoot and I was hoping for a foul call.”
Despite the ending, Vigil said his faith in his players never wavered.
“I’m going to ride with these guys,” Vigil said. “I teach them to try and make decisions and without them and without him in that game and the game before that and the game before that, we’re not even in this game. Without him, when Jordan fouled out, we’re not even in a position to decide whether to shoot a 2 or a 3. So I’m going to ride with him, no matter what. I’m not upset about anything. This is my guy right here. These are my guys.”
And in the end, the game showed the true character of the Trojans, Vigil said
“Winning a state championship is the hardest thing. It is so difficult,” he said. “If I were to sum it up, I would just say that this gave New Mexico a look at what kind of heart our kids have. And I really think that was on display. It hurts, it stings. My heart breaks for these guys, my seniors. But we had a heck of a ride. What a season.”
No. 3 Mesa Vista 58,
No. 2 Santa Rosa 51
The Trojans (26-4) used a 14-0 first-quarter run to gain control of the game Friday in the Pit, then never relinquished that advantage.
“We feel like we have the type of team that we’re just gonna knock on the door, knock on the door, knock on the door, and if we kick it in for a minute or two minutes, and then you could put up another door,” Mesa Vista coach Thomas Vigil said. “That’s okay, because now we have a lead, and we play pretty well with leads.”
Jordan Gallegos stuffed the stat box with 13 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, while Santiago Martinez had 16 points and four assists and Ezequiel Nevarez added 14 points with five boards three assists.
But it was breaking out a zone that had a big impact on the Lions (26-6) defensively.
“We do like to be prepared,” Vigil said. “I think that preparation is one of the key components to success and that’s what we do. And they pay attention to everything, the game plan they’ve executed all year long.”
The win meant the Trojans were heading to the season finale for the fourth time. Mesa Vista won one state championship in 1997, a 55-49 win over Texico.
No. 3 Mesa Vista 58,
No. 6 Legacy Academy 32
A key first-quarter run March 12 propelled the Trojans (25-4) to the substantial victory over the Silverbacks (24-6) and a meeting in the March 14 semifinals against No. 2 Santa Rosa at The Pit.
Mesa Vista used strong shooting from the outside early to combat Legacy’s sagging defensive zone designed to take out star Trojans’ post Jordan Gallegos.
“This guy right here (Gallegos) in my humble opinion, is the best player in the state of New Mexico,” Mesa Vista coach Thomas Vigil said. “And he had two points in the first half. When we got to the locker room, he wasn’t talking about his two points. The other guys had 12 because he draws so much attention that other guys get to eat off of that.”
Those other guys were Santiago Martinez and Andres Valdez, who each had 12 points and two 3-pointers at the half. They each finished with 16 points for the game and Martinez added eight assists, while Gallegos had 10 second points to finish with 12 overall.
That well-rounded lineup is what makes Mesa Vista so tough, Vigil said.
“I think that is one of our pillars is making sure that we play the right way,” he said. “There are no heroes on this team. There might be different people every single night.”
The Trojans used 22-for-40 shooting on the night to overwhelm Legacy at the Rio Rancho Event Center.
“In this building for a team from Northern New Mexico, is pretty darn good,” Vigil said. “That’s confidence. That’s good, quality decision making, That’s teamwork. It’s crisp passing. There are so many things that go into that. Credit to these guys, though. They had the look.”