Española Valley senior guards Matt Brito and Donovan Maldonado helped lead the Sundevils to a 64-58 victory Feb. 18 over the Los Alamos Hilltoppers in a key District 2AAAA matchup in Los Alamos.
Brito finished the game with 20 points, while Maldonado led a fourth-quarter surge that erased a 43-39 lead by Los Alamos at the end of the third quarter and gave Española a 50-45 lead.
“I got on them (seniors) at halftime because I expect so much of them,” Española coach Richard Martinez said. “I hadn’t been happy with them, and I think they knew it.”
Maldonado, who finished with 13 points, confirmed that Martinez had challenged the seniors.
“He told us that we had to step it up,” Maldonado said.
The victory over Los Alamos and one over Bernalillo later in the week secured first place in the district for Española and the top seed in the district tournament.
Española had come out strongly at the start of the Los Alamos game, with Maldonado draining a three-pointer to start the scoring. Española led 15-9 at the end of the first quarter.
The Sundevils started slipping in the second quarter, allowing Los Alamos to score the last seven points of the first half and grab a 32-28 lead. The Hilltoppers did most of their damage from the free-throw line, making 12-of-13 attempts in the second quarter.
The Hilltoppers made a 7-0 run in the third quarter highlighted by a deep three-pointer from Los Alamos’ 6-foot-11-inch junior post Alex Kirk. Los Alamos led by four points going into the final quarter.
After a couple of free throws by senior post Daniel Archuleta, the Sundevils trailed by two points. Archuleta, along with fellow senior James Flores, junior Gabe Rodriguez and sophomore Fabian Valdez, took turns off the bench trying to slow down Kirk, who still finished the game with 21 points.
Flores put the ball on the floor and drove to the basket despite the presence of Kirk and banked in a basket off the glass to tie the score at 43-43. That drive ignited the Sundevils.
Maldonado stole the ball at midcourt and drove down for a layup, He followed that with a jumper from the top of the key and then fired in a three-pointer. He slapped his chest as the ball fell through the net to give Española a 50-45 lead.
“When it all starts coming together, that basket starts to look big,” Maldonado said.
Los Alamos came back to tie the score 50-50 after a three-pointer by Zach Parks. Maldonado then set his trap and Los Alamos fell into it.
Ambushing the Hilltoppers’ guards at midcourt, Maldonado came up with three consecutive steals. Brito was the beneficiary of Maldonado’s thievery, converting the three thefts into six straight points for the Sundevils.
Española led 58-52 going into the final minute of play. Los Alamos canned a three-pointer and the Sundevils continued to leave the door open for the Hilltoppers, going just 2-of-6 from the free-throw line. The Hilltoppers continued to turn the ball over, but were still within two points at 60-58 with 11.5 seconds left in the game.
Los Alamos took the ball out-of-bounds at midcourt with Kirk bringing the ball in. Española smothered the Los Alamos players on the inbounds play and Kirk lofted an ill-advised pass towardsthe basket that hit the rim and bounced into the hands of Española’s Luis Alvarado, who was fouled.
Alvarado finally put the game on ice, sinking both free throws for a 62-58 Española lead with 7.5 seconds left.
The Sundevils wrapped up the first seed in District 2AAAA with an 87-66 victory over Bernalillo Feb. 21 at Española. The Sundevils jumped out to a 24-14 lead after the first quarter and led 46-32 at halftime, with Matt Brito scoring 11 first-half points.
Bernalillo rallied in the third quarter by outscoring the Sundevils 19-13 and cutting Española’s lead to eight points heading into the fourth quarter. The Sundevils put the Spartans away in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Spartans 28-15 for a 21-point victory. Brito led Española with 17 points.
The Sundevils will host the District 2AAAA championship game Friday at Española. The Sundevils finished the regular season 22-4 and 7-1 in District 2AAAAA.
By winning the regular season district title, Española earned an automatic spot in the opening round of the Class AAAA state tournament.
Española is currently ranked first in Class AAAA in the New Mexico High School Coaches Association poll.