Española Valley’s defeat of the Wingate Bears 64-50 Jan. 8 allowed the Sundevils to finish in second place in the St. Michaels Invitational.
Española ended the round-robin tournament with a 2-1 record. The Sundevils’ only loss came at the hands of Hope Christian, which went 3-0 during the three-day tournament in Santa Fe.
It was a difficult tournament for the Sundevils. They led 51-35 going into the fourth quarter of their game against Wingate, but the Bears quickly cut the lead to 10 points. The Sundevils took control of the game with 10 unanswered points.
The victory came after the Sundevils had survived an overtime struggle Jan. 7 with host St. Michaels. They defeated the hosts 47-44 one day after suffering their second loss of the season. The Hope Christian Huskies beat Española 57-47 Jan. 6 in the opening round of the tournament.
After being overwhelmed on the boards by Hope Christian, the Sundevils went away from their normal three-guard lineup and started a taller frontline against St. Michaels.
Española coach Richard Martinez started a frontline that featured: 6-foot-4-inch junior Gabe Rodriguez, 6-foot-4-inch senior James Flores and 6-foot-2-inch junior Luis Alvarado. Senior guards Matt Brito and Ray Romero were also in the starting lineup, while senior guard Donovan Maldonado, normally a starter, was on the bench, along with regular starter Daniel Archuleta, a 6-foot post.
“We went with some size and brought Donovan in off the bench,” Martinez said.
The move paid dividends in the first quarter, as Rodriguez scored eight points. However, the pressure-packed game boiled down to turnovers and two clutch free throws made by Romero in overtime helpted Española hold off the Horsemen for a three-point victory.
The Horsemen jumped out to a 6-0 lead at the start of the game, but Española came back behind six straight points by Rodriguez.
“Coach had said we were going to go with a bigger lineup,” Rodriguez said. “We focused on getting the ball inside and it worked out nice.”
The Horsemen and the Sundevils slowed down the pace after a quick start with each team passing the ball around the perimeter patiently looking for an opening. The score was tied at 25-25 with just nine seconds left in the first half after a free throw by St. Michaels.
On Española’s ensuing possession, the Sundevils rolled the ball inbounds and Brito followed it until picking it up at midcourt. He fired a pass to Ryan Salazar, who whipped it over to Romero in the corner. Romero buried a three-pointer at the buzzer to give Española a 28-25 lead.
The pace of the game became even slower in the second half.
The Horsemen took a 32-30 lead midway through the third quarter, but Rodriguez tied the score with a basket inside off a feed from Brito, then Salazar came up with a steal and fed the ball to Brito, who drove to the basket and scored to give the Sundevils a 34-32 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
A short jumper by Flores gave the Sundevils a 36-32 lead. After a three-point play by St. Michaels’ Jordan Romero, Española went with a four-guard offense that worked the ball around the perimeter before finally finding Maldonado open in the corner. He buried a three-pointer to give Española a 39-35 lead.
That would be Española’s last basket in regulation time. St. Michaels tied the game on a pair of free throws, and Española missed a three-pointer at the buzzer to force overtime.
Brito got Española going in overtime with a driving floater in the lane and after St. Mikes missed a three-pointer, Brito was fouled and nailed a pair of free throws. The rattled Horsemen turned the ball over, and Brito drove the baseline. His pass back to the perimeter was knocked down, but Brito tipped the ball to teammate Maldonado, who sank a short shot for a six-point Sundevils’ lead.
The Horsemen finally scored in overtime with 1:28 left on a three-pointer by Michael Yardman-Frank and eventually cut the lead to three points.
With 11 seconds left to play, Ray Romero toed the foul line for the Sundevils on another one-and-one free-throw opportunity. He rolled in his first free throw and swished the second for a 47-42 Española lead. The Sundevils held on for the victory.
“Ray doesn’t get noticed as much as Donovan or Brito, but he’s our constant,” Martinez said.
Rodriguez led Española with 14 points and Brito added 10. Maldonado finished with five points off the bench.
“We needed to develop the post a little bit more,” Maldonado said. “What matters is we got the win.”
Rebounding Edge
Hope Christian beat up Española Valley on the backboards and handed the Sundevils a 10-point loss Jan. 6 in the Sundevils’ first game of 2009 after 17 days off.
The Huskies grabbed rebounds off the defensive glass, which enabled their guards to score in transition. On the offensive glass, Hope regularly pulled in offensive rebounds and scored on putbacks against the Sundevils.
With four players between 6 foot 4 inches and 6 foot 7 inches, the Huskies height proved to be a formidable obstacle for the Sundevils. Hope took a 2-1 lead in the first quarter and the Sundevils could never overtake the Huskies for the rest of the game. Española managed to turn an apparent rout into a competitive game with a strong second-half surge after trailing 32-19 at halftime. But the deep Huskies had an answer for Española’s run in 6-foot-6-inch freshman Arren Wells.
Wells came in off the bench to score nine straight points and give Hope a 41-34 lead.
“We’re a young (two seniors) team and I was glad to see we didn’t panic,” Hope coach Jim Murphy said. “We have good size off the bench and our freshman did a great job.”
Española battled its way back and tied the score at 42-42 in the fourth quarter, but Maldonado missed the front end of a one-and-one that could have given the Sundevils the lead. Hope eventually pulled away for a 10-point victory.
Brito led the Sundevils with 12 points, while Maldonado finished with 10.
“(Hope) just outplayed us and found better shots,” Martinez said. “It was a good learning experience for us.”
Tough Schedule
Española’s victory over Wingate improved the Sundevils season record to 12-2.
Española faced a tough week of competition starting Monday with a game against West Las Vegas. The game had been rescheduled from an earlier date due to snow. The Sundevils hit the road and faced Taos in their District 2AAAA opener Tuesday. Piedra Vista will host the Sundevils in a nondistrict game Friday in Farmington and Saturday the Sundevils face Albuquerque High School, a Class AAAAA school.
“Sometimes the schedule calls for something more,” Martinez said. “It’s going to be hard for the kids, but we’ve got to overcome it.”