Española swarms Santa Fe High in Sundevils’ home opener

ESPAÑOLA — James Branch cackled with glee, like an old dog who had a new trick up his sleeve.

It’s called the “Boeheim” 2-3 zone defense, named after the Syracuse head men’s basketball coach who has made a living out of that defense. Branch calls it “The Swarm.”

The trick up the Española Valley head boys basketball coach’s sleeve was the trapping element the Sundevils used Tuesday night against Santa Fe High. It forced six turnovers in the fourth quarter of a nondistrict game, and the nine points that came from it were the difference in a 64-55 win in the Sundevils’ home opener in Edward Medina Gymnasium. The defensive change from the Sundevils’ man-to-man defense to the zone came out of necessity. The Demons spread the court out and attacked the basket for layups or kicked the ball out when the help swooped into the paint for 3-pointers. When Victor Salcido scored off a layup with 1:31 left in the third quarter, Santa Fe High had a 38-36 lead and Branch had the impetus for his brain child.

“They spread the floor, penetrate and layup, dumped to the big guy or kick to the 3,” Branch said. “They were very deliberate and doing a hell of a job. We couldn’t guard them.”

That is, until the Sundevils (5-0) employed the zone. Whenever the Demons (4-5) moved the ball into the corners in the halfcourt set, Española jumped and trapped to force them to lob passes that were easy targets for interceptions or to give up the ball in bad spots that led to turnovers.

“We figured we’d try something different,” Sundevils senior post Azaziah Salazar said. “Maybe throw something they haven’t seen. That was the first time we ran it all year and it worked out pretty well.”

Española started using it toward the end of the third quarter, and it helped it produce a 5-0 spurt to take a 41-38 lead. Then, came a turnover that the Sundevils couldn’t convert. When Demons guard Isaiah Andermann scored on a breakaway layup, Santa Fe High was within 41-40 entering the fourth.

Despite the one-point lead, Branch saw the patience the Sundevils had when the Demons slowed down the game from the fast-paced first half that saw Española take a 32-28 lead.

“We showed some composure and executed in the halfcourt set,” Branch said. “You have to be able to at [the state tournament].”

It was as close as the Demons got, as they turned the ball over twice in the first two minutes and gave up consecutive offensive rebounds to the 6-foot J.P. Sena (so says the roster on MaxPreps.com) after Christian Fernandez

The Sundevils employed what’s called the ‘Boeheim’ 2-3 zone defense, named after the Syracuse head men’s basketball coach who has made a living out of that defense. Coach James Branch calls it ‘The Swarm.’

missed a free throw before he stuck his putback for a 44-40 lead with 7:10 left. Sena finished with 10 rebounds on the night — seven of them on the offensive end — to go with 15 points.

“You gotta play every shot like it’s a miss,” Sena said. “That’s how I go [into the paint], and I just ended up getting some lucky bounces.”

The bounces were unkind to Santa Fe High, as the 9-2 Española run made the score 49-42 after Salazar hit a free throw at 5:54 of the fourth. Salcido and Andermann hit 3s to help cut the margin to 52-48, but a Fernandez steal and layup helped facilitate a six-point run to make the score 58-48 with 3:12 left.

“We told them where we wanted to attack, what part of the court to go to, and they kept going to the corners and the sides,” Demons head coach Zack Cole said. “That’s what they want you to do. Then, we just had some careless passes. We see the defender right next to our guy and we still throw the ball because we don’t want the ball. And those types of layups are turnovers on the other end.”

Salazar had a team-high 18 points, while Ryan Trujillo added 11.

Salcido had 12 points for the Demons, Andermann added 11 and Antonio Lovato 10.