Española Valley head coach James Branch said the Sundevils would experience more adversity this season after last year’s 28-2 record and state championship game appearance.
It didn’t take long, as Española came away from the Al Armendariz tournament 1-2 overall, which included an 82-66 semifinal loss Nov. 30 to Santa Fe High School inside Capital High School’s Edward A. Ortiz Memorial Gymnasium.
The Demons were led by J.B. White’s 23 points, including two powerful dunks, with one being an alley-oop within the opening minutes of the first quarter. Cruz Martinez also added 17 points for the Demons.
The Sundevils were without Jon Garcia (strep throat), who Branch thought could have gave Española a better matchup against the future NCAA Division 1 player in White with the 6-foot-3 frame of Garcia.
“He’s one of the most athletic guys we got and it would have helped,” Branch said. “You know that guy they had out there (White), he gives us some of that. Not as good as that, I’ll be damned, but he threw one down last year in JV, so he gives us that and that’s not bad.”
Española trailed 46-33 at halftime, largely in thanks to White’s 17 first half points, but missing eight consecutive free throws certainly didn’t help the Sundevils cause either.
“That’s just how this game is sometimes,” Branch said. “You can see, we’re there. The potential is there and we’re in a good place. We just have to stay the course.”
They looked like they had done just that after Lorenzo Roybal drained a 3-point shot that finished off a 9-0 Española scoring run to start the second half to get within 46-42. However, Santa Fe would lose no ground as Martinez’s 3-pointer at the end of the third equaled the Demons’ 13 -point lead they began the half with.
Santa Fe would go on to score the opening nine points of the fourth quarter and extend their largest lead of the game to 22 points at 74-52.
Española was left a bit shorthanded in the second half after guard Zach Mascareñas failed to return to the floor after a brief scuffle with Santa Fe’s White on the way to the locker room. Branch said he was unsure of the details of the event and did not want to comment further on who’s decision it was that resulted in the second-half absence.
Ryan Trujillo led Española with 15 points, but also missed six free throws, had five turnovers and shot 3-of-14 from the field. Gabriel Serrano had 11 points and Christian Aizpuro had nine off the bench off 3-of-3 shooting from 3-point range.
Española defeated the two-time Class 2A defending champions from Pecos in the first round 75-67 Nov. 29 behind 23 points from Mascareñas, 20 from Trujillo and 15 from Brian Martinez.
Española was defeated by Grants 60-51 Dec. 1 in the third/fourth place game. The Sundevils will stay in tournament mode this weekend at the Sandia Prep Invitational before a rematch against the Demons, this time at Santa Fe Dec. 11.
Quick Experience
Pojoaque Valley (2-2) was also present at the tournament and while the Elks got punched in the mouth by Santa Fe (69-23) and Pecos (72-55), they got a much-needed win in an 83-39 blowout over Jemez Valley on the final day.
“We just played two teams that could easily be in the final four in their class,” Pojoaque head coach Thomas Vigil said after the loss to Pecos. “We’re still trying to figure ourselves out.”
Vigil said he was never disappointed in the effort in the two losses, but moving forward, he would like to see his team stay more under control and stick to the game plan.
“When we get behind, we start to play a different way and we got to understand that we need to play the game a certain way and do the things we believe in no matter what the score is,” he said. “We’re trying to get experience and we’re going to have to get it now. If January comes around and we’re still in the same boat, that’s not an excuse. We have to get it now.”