The Española Valley High School boys locker room was subdued Jan. 30 after a late rally by the Sundevils fell short in a 59-53 home loss to Los Alamos.
“The kids are taking it hard enough as it is,” Española coach Richard Martinez said. “We’ve gotta learn how to come from behind.”
The game had been a showdown between the top two teams in District 2AAAA. Both teams entered the game 2-0 in district play, but it was the Hilltoppers who stayed on top after the game, and the Sundevils who fell into a tie with Bernalillo for second place.
The Hilltoppers held off the Sundevils in the final minute of play by sinking 5-of-6 free throws to secure the win.
“The kids stepped up and hit free throws,” Los Alamos coach Alan Kirk said. “We just shoot a bunch of them in practice when we’re tired.”
Española had fought back after trailing 43-31 in the third quarter. With 4:15 left in the game, the Sundevils finally tied the score on a pair of free throws by guard Matt Brito.
Los Alamos regained the lead with a free throw, but Española had a chance to take back the lead when Fabian Valdez was fouled and went to the free-throw line. However, Valdez missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity.
Los Alamos extended its lead to four points, but the Sundevils battled back and tied the score 52-52 after Ryan Salazar fearlessly drove down and buried a three-pointer with about two minutes left to play.
The Hilltoppers went ahead after two free throws by Alex Kirk, son of coach Alan Kirk. On Española’s possession, guard Donovan Maldonado was fouled and shot two free throws that could have tied the game, but he managed to make just one.
On the ensuing inbounds play, Los Alamos guard Doug Hardy fired a pass the length of the floor that went out of bounds without being touched. Española regained possession under the Hilltoppers’ basket with a chance to take the lead.
Española fired up a three-pointer that bounced off the rim. The Sundevils came up with the rebound and moments later Brito drove down the lane, but his pass to a teammate was picked off by Los Alamos’ Zach Parks, who was immediately fouled.
With the packed Sundevils’ gym shaking with screams of Española’s fans, Parks first free throw bounced high off the rim and fell through the net. His second shot was a swish, giving the Hilltoppers a 56-53 lead with 30 seconds left to play.
Española attempted a game-tying three-pointer from the corner, but Brito’s attempt bounced off the rim. Salazar snatched up the rebound and had a clear lane for a layup, but his attempt was too hard off the glass and Kirk corralled the rebound.
Kirk nailed both free throws with 13 seconds left to play, giving Los Alamos’ a 58-53 lead. Española missed another shot and Kirk sank one final free throw to give the Hilltoppers the victory.
Mistakes and silly turnovers hurt the Sundevils at the end of the game, according to Maldonado.
“We can’t finish,” Maldonado said after the game. “We made a run, but we should have taken the lead.”
The win ended nearly five years of frustration for the Hilltoppers in the Sundevils’ gym. The last time Los Alamos had won in Española was in 2004 during the district tournament.
“It was just a great effort by the whole team,” Kirk said. “All the kids got in there and worked hard on defense.”
The hardest worker was Alex Kirk. The 6-foot-11-inch junior scored 28 points and hauled in 19 rebounds to pace the Hilltoppers. Brito led Española with 15 points and Salazar added 12, including nine in the fourth quarter.
“As long as we didn’t run with them, we did okay,” coach Kirk said. “Española’s very good at running, and it’s easy to get sucked into.”
The Hilltoppers now have two key road wins in District 2AAAA at Española and Bernalillo.
The Sundevils faced Bernalillo Wednesday (2/4) in Bernalillo.
‘The only thing you can do from a loss is learn from it,” Maldonado said. “We need to come back strong.”