Española Valley senior guard Matt Brito and coach Richard Martinez don’t always see eye-to-eye when it comes to basketball, but when Martinez needed a player to step up, it was Brito who answered the call.
The 6-foot senior guard sank four pressure-packed free throws in the final 18.2 seconds of the game to give the Sundevils a 54-51 victory over St. Pius X in the quarterfinals of the Class AAAA state basketball tournament March 11 in the Pit.
“Matt and I have had our differences,” Martinez said. “He believes in on philosophy and I believe in another, but I don’t want to break the spirit of a young stallion like this young man. Today, he played like a champion.”
The Sundevils had overcome a 28-27 St. Pius halftime lead with a 7-0 run to start the third quarter. Brito had started it with a fall away jumper and had added a tip in of a missed layup. Española led 40-34 going into the fourth quarter, but a 6-0 run by the Sartans that ended with a driving layup by Jacob Garcia had given St. Pius a 51-50 lead with 1:26 left in the game.
Española worked the ball around for a good shot. Brito drove between two St. Pius defenders and finger-rolled a layup and drew a foul. The ball rolled off the rim, but he drained two free throws to give the Sundevils a 52-51 lead.
After a steal by teammate Donovan Maldonado, Brito was back at the line with 7.8 seconds left to play. He stroked in two more free throws to give Española a 54-51 lead. St. Pius missed a final thrre-point attempt, and Española advanced to the semifinals March 12 to face Artesia.
Brito finished with 23 points to lead Española
“Pressure doesn’t really bother me,” Brito said. ”I felt like no one could stop me, and I wanted the ball in my hands.”