Española knows that it is nearly impossible for them to make the state tournament without an automatic qualifier from a district championship, and that is fueling their motivation late in the season.
But they keep checking the box with win after win to get closer to that goal.
“Everybody’s just more confident,” said Española senior Kevin Coffeen. “It’s a new season. A fresh start.”
After a 2-16 start to the season, the Sundevils (6-17, 4-1 in district) entered district play by winning four of five games, including a 57-54 win over Pojoaque (14-9, 2-3) at home on Feb. 3 in a game that went down to the final minute, to take over first place.
“They believe that they can win,” Española coach Joey Trujillo said. “It took me some time to learn my kids and the personnel. They took some time to get adjusted to me. We’re getting there. We’re still not there; we’re still getting better.”
The Sundevils started the game off with a 3-pointer on the first possession. Quickly, Española assembled a 7-0 lead, and were up 10-2.
“I was feeling awesome,” said Española senior Jaydn Martinez. “Just good to protect our home floor in front of our fans. Just give my team that boost that we need.”
But Pojoaque counter-punched, and scored nine straight points to end the first quarter. Then, they added four more to start the second quarter, capped by a huge slam dunk by Serafin Mendez with the score 15-10.
But when it looked like Pojoaque would be stealing all the momentum, the Sundevils managed to steady the game. They trailed by one point at halftime (27-26) and again by one at the end of the third quarter (40-39).
The Sundevils’ task for the game was slowing down Pojoaque’s Derek Sanchez, who averages 25 points per game. That largely fell on Jacob Torresdey, who stayed in Sanchez’s face much of the game. But the senior fouled out with two minutes remaining, and Sanchez breathed a sigh of relief and scored four straight points to give Pojoaque the lead.
With under a minute left and the Sundevils up one, Nate Chacon hit a pair of free throws, but Mendez matched it with a basket left. Coffeen drew a foul with 28 seconds left, and hit one-of-two free throws. Sanchez drew a foul of his own for a chance to tie the game, but stunningly missed both free throws (he shoots 80 percent this year).
Española missed a basket on the other end, but Coffeen grabbed the rebound and drew a foul. He hit one of two free throws to lead 57-54 with 16 seconds remaining. Then, as Pojoaque was looking for a shot late in the game, Coffeen grabbed a steal, and dribbled out the clock.
“We wanted a foul, but if we could get a steal, get a steal,” Coffeen said. “The opportunity was there.”
Earlier in the night, the Española C team started with an 11-2 lead, and Pojoaque missed a shot at the buzzer as the Sundevils won 49-46. In the junior varsity game, Española again started with a big lead, 9-0, and cruised to a 52-35 win.
Sanchez finished the game with 19 points, while Mendez had 18. Martinez was the primary scorer for the Sundevils with 19, while Chacon had 15 points.
“We knew we had our hands full, we knew it was going to be a heck of a game,” said Española coach Joey Trujillo. “We were just fortunate enough to come out ahead. We were just lucky that we ended up on top.”
Española, with three games left in their regular season, next faces Moriarty (7-16, 0-5) on the road on Thursday; they pulled away late for a home win over the Pintos earlier this season. Pojoaque hosts Taos (12-9, 3-1) on Thursday.