Mesa Vista boys basketball has a new look this year.
In previous seasons, under coach Richard Apodaca, the Trojans were often slow and methodical, focused on defense and halfcourt offense.
Now, their plays looks most like a team focused solely on taking a shot as quickly as possible.
“That’s when we’re at our best,” coach Thomas Vigil said.
Early on, that has paid dividends, as the Trojans (2-0) are averaging 83.5 points per game through their first two contests, including a strong 77-67 win over Dulce (2-2).
“We’ve still got a long way to go,” Vigil said. “We’ve got to defend better, play a little bit smarter. But overall, at the end of the day, when you play a team like Dulce you’re just happy to get a win.”
Dulce brought its own large group of fans to the game, and the gymnasium was loud starting from the junior varsity games.
The Trojans started the year on Dec. 1 with a 90-23 win over Coronado (0-2) where they scored 55 points in the first half.
Against Dulce, Mesa Vista scored seconds after tip-off, and were up 7-0 after about a minute. They scored the first nine points of the game before Dulce got on the board, and piled on 27 points in just the first quarter to lead by 13. Santiago Martinez scored 15 points in the first quarter alone, often on transition baskets forced by turnovers.
“Just keep the role, get the trend going, until we win,” Martinez said.
At halftime, Mesa Vista led 40-25, and they led by 16 at the end of the third.
“Dulce had us beat in the size category, so I think for us to sit there and play a halfcourt game against them wouldn’t be wise,” Vigil said. “We’re outmatched in the paint. But it worked out for us tonight.”
But Dulce came back late, and a strong fourth-quarter run brought the game to within seven points, before a 3-pointer by Jordan Cervantes ended the run, and ultimately led to the Trojans’ victory.
Marcos Martinez, a transfer coming from Coronado, came off the bench to lead the Trojans with 18 points in the game, while Martinez scored 17 total. Brandon Sandoval and Cervantes joined them in scoring double figures. Ivan Harrison scored 21 points to lead Dulce. Dulce struggled while only having seven players in their game rotation.
A back-and-forth junior varsity boys game went the way of Dulce, 38-35.
Mesa Vista faces a tough challenge in playing Taos (1-1) on the road on Thursday, and will just look to keep that game close. The Trojans host Cuba (1-2) on Saturday. Dulce has a rematch at Coronado on Wednesday after beating the Leopards by 56 on Nov. 28.
“Starting out 2-0 is nice,” Vigil said. “But it doesn’t mean we’ve done anything. Our schedule is brutal. But that’s by design. We want to see if we can expose our weaknesses, and then try to fix them before the district season.”