Irvin Primero is listed at 6 feet, 2 inches, but he plays a lot bigger.
The sophomore center loves to get physical. He will pump fake then back someone down in the post to score points and get to the line. And he did that all game against Taos, with a 14-point first half that set the tone for the game.
“Mr. Unstoppable right here,” said senior Jayden Duran. “No one can stop him. He’s a big body.”
Behind Primero’s big game, Española Valley (12-14, 6-2) led from start to finish to take down Taos (13-13, 6-2) on Friday with a massive effort in a 64-43 win on their senior night. They avenged a six-point road loss in Taos from two weeks earlier, and won by 21 after all of their first seven district games were within nine points.
“We’re smaller than they were,” Española Coach Joey Trujillo said. “But you can’t measure heart. We knew they were bigger than us. But we knew what we had to do. And we did it.”
Española followed Trujillo’s game plan “to a T,” both players and Trujillo said.
“We did what we needed to do,” Duran said. “We knew we couldn’t go out like we did in Taos.”
The Sundevils and Tigers will face off in a District 2-4A playoff game for an automatic state tournament berth and home field advantage in the district tournament. That game will likely take place on Monday. The time and neutral-site location will be officially determined Sunday, with Pojoaque having been considered as a location.
The Sundevils had control for nearly the whole game. Taos started a comeback effort in the third quarter. But just as they started to steal momentum, at one point getting within seven, Matthew Lovato threw down a transition dunk to fire up the team and the crowd, and Española cruised from there.
After that dunk closed the third quarter, the Sundevils won the fourth quarter 17-8.
Throughout the night, Española controlled the game in the post. They managed second-chance points and kept Taos off the glass, despite a nominal size disadvantage. And their defense had the clamps on the Tigers.
“Defense went crazy,” said senior Kevin Coffeen.
After Taos won the tipoff, Española scored first. Primero quickly had eight points in the first quarter, the Sundevils were up 14-5, ending the first quarter up by seven. They scored eight more points in the first two minutes of the second quarter, and forced a timeout with a 12-point lead.
By halftime, they led by 11 points. And despite a slow stretch in the third, they finished the quarter leading by 12. Then, Coffeen scored two quick baskets to start the fourth quarter. And with the Sundevils up by 16, the game was all but over.
Duran led the Sundevils with 18 points, and Primero finished with 16 — 14 of which came in the first half.
Earlier, the Española C team won 72-52. The Sundevil junior varsity team fell just short — Dominic Salazar hit a clutch 3-pointer to send the game into overtime. But his last-second heave just missed the mark, and Española fell 62-60.
The game also represented senior night for the Sundevils — though they hope it is not their last home game of the year. Before the game, the team represented its four seniors (Coffeen, Duran, Juancarlos Garcia and Victor Nuñez) and the one senior cheerleader (Adriana Wilder).
For the final 97 seconds, with the win in hand, all four seniors played together on the court.
“We’ve grown up together, so it’s cool to be sharing the same high-school court,” Duran said.
Española will get at least one more home game should they beat Taos on Monday.
“We’ve gotta work 10 times as much as we work today, cause they’re going to be ready,” Duran said. “It’s fun though. We’re going to be district champs, I believe that.”