The Sundevils had one more chance with 1.6 seconds left.
A series of events gave Española the ball in the frontcourt down by one point. Jerek Duda went for a lob pass to Matthew Lovato under the basket. But the pass was high, and Lovato had trouble locating the ball. The ball bounced off Lovato’s fingertips and out of bounds as time expired.
“I couldn’t really see the ball as it was coming in, because there was a hand on my face,” Lovato said.
Española Valley (11-14, 5-2) fell late to Los Alamos (9-14, 4-2) on Saturday, putting them a game behind in the district.
The Sundevils still can win the district with a more difficult path. They must win at home on Feb. 23 against Taos (12-12, 5-1). Then, they will most likely play in a district tiebreak game against the winner of Tuesday’s Los Alamos-Taos matchup.
Los Alamos was led by its talented pair of guards Niko Garcia and Josiah Fresquez, who combined for 40 of their 54 points.
Duda led Española with 15 points, and Lovato scored 14, 12 of which came on four 3-pointers in the third quarter.
With so many of Los Alamos’ players living in the Española area, there is certainly a bond between the teams.
“It’s all competition on the court,” Lovato said. “Off the court, we’re all family.”
The game was tight the entire way through. Española started slow with turnovers in the first quarter, but kept the game close and led at halftime. The third quarter featured as many total points, 44, as the first two combined, and Española finished it ahead by two.
Los Alamos hit a free throw to tie the game with two minutes left, then scored a basket to take the lead at 90 seconds, but Miguel Orozco quickly answered for the Sundevils to tie.
The Hilltoppers drew a foul and took the lead, making one of two shots, with 24 seconds left. Duda just missed a go-ahead 3-pointer. At that point, Trujillo still had four timeouts. One of them was used after Los Alamos missed two free throws with three seconds left, giving the Sundevils an opportunity. Another was used after an inbound led to a foul in the frontcourt with 1.6 seconds to go.
Trujillo said that for the final play, there were multiple options, and he thought Lovato had a good look.
“It was there, it was open, he got his hands on it,” Trujillo said. “If it had been just a little lower, maybe. But, hey, we had a chance. I can live with that.”
Española will rematch with Taos after losing by six on the road earlier. All of Española’s district games have been within single digits.
“It’s going to be a hell of a game, like all the others,” Trujillo said.