Panthers extinguish rally to begin title defense
With investigation over roommate/assistant coach Baca lingering, Pecos’ Cordova hits key free throws
Carlos Cordova didn’t hide from what was apparent on Thursday afternoon: The Pecos senior was distracted.
Wouldn’t you be when a comforting figure — in the form of in-limbo assistant coach Dominick Baca — is absent on the sidelines? Playing basketball just wasn’t the same for Cordova as the Pecos Panthers started the march toward March and the goal of a second straight Class 3A title against Grants in the opening game of the Al Armendariz Tournament boys basketball roundrobin in Capital’s Edward A. Ortiz Memorial Gymnasium.
But Cordova knew how to perform in a big moment, and he came up big for the Panthers when it mattered the most when he hit a pair of free throws to stop a Grants rally and give Pecos a season-opening 75-68 win. The Panthers play Santa Fe High, which lost to Roswell Goddard 62-61, at 3:30 p.m. Friday.
Cordova struggled through a scoreless first half and had just four points when he toed the free-throw line with :28.8 seconds left and Grants within 71-66, after they trailed by as much as 68-54 with just 3½ minutes left. The senior wing calmly, and cooly hit both freebies to up the lead to 73-66 to finish his night with six points.
However, it belied the struggle within him.
“I was composed, but it’s always in the back of my head,” Cordova said. “There’s a lot going on.”
Cordova alluded to the New Mexico Activities Association investigation into the living arrangement between he and assistant coach Dominick Baca. The two have lived together for the past 2½ years since Cordova offered Baca a place to stay when the coach was looking to move into Pecos. A rock-solid friendship formed from the pairing, but it took a hit when the NMAA informed the school of its intention on Monday. That was following a Nov. 29 story published by The New Mexican about the arrangement. The investigation will determine if Pecos violated the “undue influence” clause in its bylaws, which states that a participant in any sport or activity sanctioned by the NMAA cannot live to a coach, teacher, administrator or staff member associated with a school without legal guardianship.
Cordova lived with his grandfather until he passed away in the summer of 2015, but offered Baca the single-wide trailer his family lived in on a property outside of Pecos right after that.
Baca left the program until Pecos’ appeal to the hardship waiver committee is heard on Dec. 12, but even Panthers head coach Ira Harge knows the past couple of days have been difficult for Cordova.
“He was very somber [Thursday],” Harge said. “But I gotta say, he is a go-to guy for us, especially down the stretch. Hitting those two free throws were rock solid, and just getting through that adversity was really good for him.”
Fortunately for Pecos, Cordova is not the only player it could lean on against the Pirates. The senior duo of Josh DeHerrera and Mario Archuleta picked up the slack. DeHerrera had 10 of his game-high 22 points in the opening quarter to help Pecos stave off a slow start that saw Grants (1-2) take an early 9-5 lead. Archuleta played the role of the ball-hawking defender, as he collected five steals in the second half as the Panthers’ fullcourt press wore down the Pirates into 15 second-half turnovers.
Archuleta also scored 15 points, and his three-point play off a drive with 6:06 left in the game started a crucial 10-4 spurt that upped the Panthers’ lead to 65-52 on Anthony Armijo’s 3 with 4:04 left.
“He’s always steady for us,” Harge said. “If he’s not scoring for us, he’s getting a rebound. If he’s not rebounding, he’s handling the ball to get us in our offense. That’s what he’s been doing for five years for us.”
Sophomore Anthony Armijo showed what he can bring to an already talented roster for the next three years, as he filled in the scoring role that Cordova is so accustomed to with 17 points. But he also showed scrappiness in collecting four rebounds and five steals — things the Panthers saw from his toward the end of last year’s state championship run.
“We’re kinda of out of sorts, and he gets a rebound — and he’s in there with the trees,” Harge said. “He gets a deflection. Anthony had a great second half and he was our energy guy.”
As for Cordova, he knows that he can rebound against the Demons and get himself in the right frame of mind.
“I gotta work through it right now,” Cordova said. “I’m glad I didn’t do anything dumb to cost us the win or anything.”
TOURNAMENT ROUNDUP ROSWELL GODDARD 62, SANTA FE HIGH 61
The Demons (1-2) were in control of the game, but could never get their lead beyond seven or eight points as the Rockets just hung around until the mistakes came.
They finally did in the final minute, as the Demons turned the ball over three times and went 1-for-2 from the the line as Goddard (1-1) finished on a 7-1 run. The comeback was capped by Dalin Stanford’s hook shot with :01 left after Santa Fe High turned the ball over under the Rocket’s basket.
“When we’re playing a scrappy, well-coached team like Goddard and you don’t put them away, that’s how those types of endings happen,” Demons head coach Zack Cole said.
Stanford had 24 points to lead all scorers, and eight came in the final quarter. Antonio Lovato led the Demons with 17 points, while Fedonta White added nine and the trio of Isaiah Andermann, Diego Salinas and Victor Salcido chipped in with eight.
CAPITAL 86, JEMEZ VALLEY 17
The Jaguars (3-0) rode their fullcourt pressure to a 37-5 lead after a quarter and substituted liberally after that in taking down the 2A Warriors (0-2) in the nightcap.
Every single Jaguar scored, with Matt Smith and T.J. Sanchez leading the way with 14. Dominic Luna added 12, Aaron Garcia had 11, while Elias Rodriguez and Seth Arroyos each scored 10.
Capital plays the Rockets at 6:30 p.m. Friday.