The Española Valley High School Sundevils boys basketball team joined the girls in clinching a district championship, and will return to state again this year as a threat to advance far in the tournament.
“The hard work that we put in over the COVID period, the hard work that we put in during the preseason and at the beginning of the season, it’s paying off,” said Española coach Gabe Martinez. “They deserve it. This is a great young group of boys. Actually, young men. They’ve worked their butts off.”
The Sundevils won easily April 24 over Taos, a team that had at one point been ranked first in the state in 4A, leading by as many as 30 before letting the bench take over in the fourth quarter.
“We’re not done yet,” said senior Jordan Duda. “We’ve just got to keep going hard until it’s over. And we’re just trying to chase the blue one game at a time.”
Martinez said beyond how well they played, he was also proud of how they all brought their energy even when not in the game.
“It didn’t matter who was in the game, everyone on our bench cheered each other on,” Martinez said.
The Sundevils burst out of the gates, with Juan Branch hitting two 3-pointers and starting the team with an 8-0 lead. Taos scored the next six points, and that was as close as they would get the rest of the game. A double technical foul was called at one point after a foul call on a Branch 3-point attempt, but Española led 16-6 after the first quarter.
The second quarter was similar with Española knocking down shots. They hit 3-pointers on each of their last three possessions of the half, with the last two from Garrett May giving them a 39-17 lead at the half.
In the third quarter, the Sundevils hit five more deep shots, giving them 11 on the night, including three from Marin Rodriguez. They stretched the lead to as many as 30 early in the fourth quarter before the bench took over and let Taos narrow the final margin.
Nobody scored more than 10 points in the game, but a remarkable 12 different players scored, and all 15 saw action.
The win clinched a district championship for the Sundevils, and extended their winning streak to six games.
Earlier in the night, the C team used a huge 28-point third quarter to win 59-45. The junior varsity team battled back from down double digits in the first quarter but lost in the end, 69-66.
On April 22, the Sundevils won at Los Alamos, 59-54. They led by 11 in the final minute before a couple baskets at the end cut into the margin.
The game was the last time Española would host fans for basketball this season as COVID-19 restrictions will end indoor attendance.
“The atmosphere, it’s going to be more quiet,” Duda said. “We’ve got to be loud as a team instead of relying on the fans.”
“It was disappointing,” Martinez said. “Española fanbase, the community support we get is second to none. Best in the state. It is a bummer, I love playing in front of these fans. But we’re still going to be locked in, we’re still going to be ready to go, fans or no fans.
Española continued their winning on April 26, taking down Moriarty 45-28 to make it seven straight wins in the district.
The Sundevils, now at 8-3 on the season, end their regular season Wednesday (4/28) hosting Pojoaque, and then prepare for the state tournament next week, and they will look to improve on last year when they fell in the quarterfinals.
Because it was the last game of the season with fans for basketball, the Sundevils hosted a senior night April 24 for both boys and girls basketball and for cheerleaders. The girls basketball team did not have the opportunity to honor seniors at their home game earlier in the week after the short notice in the announcement.
Girls basketball coach Joe Estrada honored his seniors, including valedictorian Miranda Salazar, Destiny Valdez who is deciding between an opportunity to continue playing basketball at Ryseron University in Toronto, leading scorer Jasmaine Baca, multi-sport star Anita DeAguero, Christianne Sandoval and Kianna Duran.
Martinez honored the seniors on the boys basketball team, and mentioned Branch as the salutatorian and a member of student council, as well as Duda and Mathias Garcia.
“They are the true definition of what a great teammate is,” Martinez said. “They support, they lead by example, they take care of business in the classroom. And they’re coachable. And they’re super, super respectful young men.”