Quintana carries Eldorado
Point guard scores 38 in win over La Cueva
Twenty minutes after the final buzzer, Tyler Quintana was still having trouble breathing normally.
“I’m definitely still out of breath,” he said.
It was understandable after the scintillating performance he authored Friday night.
With his running mate Kameron Valencia out of the game with a knee injury in the second half, Quintana, Eldorado’s senior point guard, took over with a ferocious 38-point performance and led the sixth-ranked Eagles to a 74-64 home victory over No. 9 La Cueva in a matchup for first place in District 2-5A.
Eldorado coach Roy Sanchez smiled as he tried to encapsulate Quintana’s efforts. “He does a lot,” Sanchez said. A big crowd, which included former La Cueva standout Bryce Alford, watched the Eagles (17-5, 6-1 in 2-5A) fall into a 20-6 hole in the game’s first 4½ minutes as La Cueva (13-9, 5-1) made eight of its first nine field-goal attempts. All five Bears starters had scored in the first three minutes.
Eldorado weathered that barrage and chipped away steadily, getting the deficit down to five by the end of the quarter. The Eagles eventually took the lead with a 10-0 run to close the first half. That included a three-point play from Quintana and a 3-pointer by Cameron Carter.
Valencia, one of Class 5A’s most dynamic players, left the game early in the third quarter with a right knee injury and did not return. It was not known the severity of the injury, though Valencia, on crutches — and in tears — in the locker room later, said it “buckled.”
Quintana stepped up in a crunch and delivered the goods. At 48-all with under three minutes left in the third quarter, Quintana scored the final 10 for Eldorado in that period for a 58-50 edge. Quintana was visibly gasping for air at the end of the quarter.
“The past four weeks,” he said, “I haven’t been able to do much cardio or running.”
He also delivered a dagger, a 3-pointer for a 62-54 lead in the early stages of the fourth quarter.
“He gets us going that way. He’s got that energy,” Sanchez said.
Quintana missed six games with a heel injury before returning earlier this week. And even he left this game briefly and was hobbling. But it wasn’t his heel; it was a shot to his left knee.
The Bears, who were in foul trouble all night, shot only nine free throws compared with Eldorado’s 37 as the Eagles avenged a one-point loss to La Cueva earlier in district play.
“We definitely were motivated by that loss,” Quintana said. “We knew we didn’t play to the best of our capabilities, and we wanted to come out and show our true potential.”
Eldorado has only one game left in the regular season, Tuesday against West Mesa. The Bears play Piedra Vista and West Mesa next week.
Los Lunas’ boys and girls both clinched District 5-4A championships, with victories over St. Pius. … In District 1-5A, Atrisco Heritage, at home, rallied late to edge Cleveland 63-61. The Storm, at one time ranked No. 1, will finish fourth place in 1-5A.