The Coronado Leopards dominated Escalante in the first half of the District 2AA championship game Feb. 27 in Gallina on their way to their second straight district title with a 64-39 victory over the Lobos.
“We jumped on them early and forced some turnovers,” Coronado coach Ezau Rios said. “We were able to turn them into layups.”
The Leopards led 36-16 at halftime. Pedro Valdez led the Leopards with 25 points and Jason Velasquez had 18 points for the Leopards.
The 6-foot-3-inch Valdez had his first dunk of the season. He is back to full strength after suffering a hairline fracture of his right elbow Dec. 4 against Pecos. He returned to action Jan. 5 and has been getting stronger ever since.
The Leopards host an opening round game of the Class AA state tournament Saturday in Gallina against Questa. The Wildcats and Leopards met once during the regular season with Coronado squeezing out a 51-47 overtime victory Dec. 22 in Questa. Rios feels that Valdez will make a big difference when the two teams meet again Saturday.
“Honestly, the way Pedro is playing it will be very difficult for Questa to match up with him,” Rios said. “We know what Questa is going to do and we’re ready.”
The Leopards lost 62-60 to Navajo Pine in the opening round of last season’s state tournament. Coronado has not advanced to the state quarterfinals since 2004 and has never won a Class AA state championship. A victory over Questa earns the Leopards a trip to Albuquerque for the quarterfinals.
“That’s what we’ve been working for,” Rios said.
If the Leopards beat Questa, they will be seeded going into the quarterfinals. They are currently ranked seventh in Class AA, but Rios believes they deserve to be seeded higher if they are one of eight teams that advance to the quarterfinals.
“If we’re lower than a fifth, there’s something wrong with the committee,” Rios said. “If we’re higher than fourth, there’s something wrong with the committee.”