Española Valley routs Capitol High, 83-65
Top-ranked Sundevils explode for 52 points in second half
Nearly half an hour had passed since the final buzzer sounded and Española Valley’s boys basketball team had solidified its No. 1 ranking in Class 5A with an 83-65 win over visiting Capital on Tuesday night.
Having escaped to his office inside Medina Gym, Sundevils head coach James Branch leaned far back in his office chair and talked about taking down the state’s third-ranked team in the first of what could be as many as five meetings between now and early March.
Still wearing the black blazer he’d flung to the floor in frustration like a dirty towel earlier in the night, he revisited the halftime speech he delivered to his players and the results he got back in the second half.
Leading 31-26 at the break, Española made its coach none too happy about the effort it was giving.
“I said we were playing scared,” Branch said. “Scared.” And that’s it? Turns out there was more. “Coach ripped us at halftime,” said point guard Christian Fernandez. “It got us going, that’s what happened.”
The Sundevils (18-1 overall, 2-0 in District 2-5A) erupted for 52 points in the final two quarters; 17 of them coming from a more aggressive Fernandez. With the coaching staff from New Mexico Highlands University sitting in the stands scouting him, he did most of his damage by driving hard to the basket against a Capital defense that was allowing fewer than 50 points a game coming in.
As much work as he did at the offensive end, he said his primary focus was Capital guard Matt Smith.
“He’s a great player, though, honestly; he’s tough,” Fernandez said. “But he kind of gave up at the end, honestly.”
Smith had five points for the Jaguars (16-4, 1-1), all of them in the first half. TJ Sanchez led the Jaguars with 15 points, scoring 10 of those in the last two quarters. Tyler Alarid finished with 14.
Fernandez had a game-high 23 for the Sundevils while JP Sena added 22 and AZ Salazar 17 points with 15 rebounds and two blocked shots.
“We’ve been playing against these guys since we were all in seventh grade, so there’s not much either team can do to kind of surprise, you know?” Salazar said. “It’s such a good rivalry and there’s a lot of trash talk going on out there. This game was just like all of them.”
The game was close throughout the first half as neither team led by more than six points. The Sundevils were in front most of the way, taking the lead for good late in the first quarter on a 3-pointer by Zach Mascareñas to snap a 9-all tie. It was part of a 7-2 run to end the quarter as the Sundevils played Capital’s more deliberate pace.
Branch said neither team really showed their entire playbook, that Capital didn’t press nearly as much has it has other teams and that his Sundevils held off on its own press for most of the game.
By time the game opened up in the third quarter, Española took control. Despite hitting each of its first three shots to open the second half, the Jaguars fell 11 points off the pace because the Sundevils hit four of their first five shots and forced two turnovers. The margin stayed at least 10 points for all but 57 seconds the rest of the way.
It grew to as many as 14 in the third quarter and 25 in the final period. Capital got within 15 and had a chance to cut it to 12 in the final three minutes but couldn’t sustain the momentum.
“We show flashes of being very good,” Branch said. “When we get on a run and I get a couple of my guys who can shoot it, it’s good.”
With a near-capacity crowd on hand to start the game, the bleachers began to empty midway through the fourth quarter.
“This is a really good rivalry and, yeah, I think we’re going to see a lot of these guys,” Salazar said. “The fans get into it and the players talk a lot during the games. It’s fun. Tonight was just our night.”
GAME NOTES
Branch took off his blazer and threw it to the floor under the team bench in the third quarter after one of his assistants called a play that didn’t work. It resulted in a turnover. … Capital was held to 37 percent shooting (25-for-67). The Jaguars turned the ball over 11 times and forced 14. … Salazar five rebounds and a blocked shot in the first four minutes of the game. … Capital will host Albuquerque Academy on Friday. That same night Española faces Los Alamos. … Capital and Española will meet again Feb. 9 in Santa Fe. It’s the second-to-last week of the regular season.