The local basketball teams went 1-for-3 in the New Mexico high school state basketball tournament semifinals, ah, but that one victory was oh so sweet.
The Mesa Vista boys will be playing in the championship game for the first time since 2003 and seeking its first Class 2A blue trophy since 1998.
The Mesa Vista girls came up short in its bid for a first ever appearance in the season finale and the Española Valley boys could not reprise the scorching shooting of its quarterfinals game in also losing.
BOYS
Class 2A
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 March 14 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 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.”
Mesa Vista advances to play Texico in the championship finals Saturday at 8 a.m., a rematch of that 1998 game.
Class 4A
No. Artesia 72, No. 3 Española Valley 51
The Bulldogs (20-9) had just a little too much of everything that mattered for the Sundevils (24-7) to overcome March 13 in The Pit.
“One of the things that hurt us throughout the game was our inability to get stops,” Española coach Joey Trujillo said. “We tried to pressure them and their guards did really good.”
Artesia also started a front line with a 6-foot, 8-inch post and 6-4 power forward, leaving the Sundevils at a distinct size disadvantage.
“So just our inability to get stops and when they did miss, we had a hard time rebounding,” Trujillo said. “It wasn’t for a lack of trying. We boxed out, we did what we had to but when you’re playing a team that size, sometimes when the ball doesn’t bounce just your way, it’s a little bit hard.”
Josiah Fresquez, who scored 37 in the quarterfinals, finished with 19 points, but he only hit 6-of-19 shots and no other player finished with more than six points.
“On the offensive side, we just didn’t shoot the ball like we did (Wednesday),” Trujillo said. “We had a lot of open looks, the ball just didn’t go in.”
Girls
Class 2A
No. 3 Pecos 52, No. 2 Mesa Vista 36
For the first 10 minutes of the March 13 game at the Rio Rancho Event Center, the Lady Trojans (26-3) simply had no answers for what the Lady Panthers (25-6) were throwing out there.
“It was one of the most roughest stretches we’ve had all season,” said Mesa Vista coach Jesse Boies. “I don’t know if we came in too hyped up. I don’t know if we got into our heads too early. We missed a few shots and we’re not used to that and things got into their heads.”
The Lady Trojans trailed 14-1 after the first quarter and 18-3 two minutes into the second.
“I told the girls after that first quarter that hey, ‘we’re human. We’re human,’” he said.
And Mesa Vista did show some backbone, scoring 13 consecutive points to pull within 18-16.
But the game slipped away for good in the third quarter, which Pecos opened with a 13-2 run.
“It hurts,” Jesse Boies said. “We came out of the locker room (at half time) pretty positive,” he said. “But we were so flat. I think some of the girls got caught up in hype of the moment.”