Taos boys unable to finish strong against Sundevils
In an intense matchup between the Taos Tigers (17-5) and the Española Valley Sundevils (16-5) on Friday (Feb. 4), the Tigers could not hold on to their slim fourth quarter lead.
In the post-game ritual of lining up to shake your opponent’s hand, very little eye contact was made between the players. The game featured heavy trash talking. Whenever Anthony Padilla would make a step-back jump shot, the Panthers would yell, “You’re not that good.” Padilla gave them a sort of zip it hand gesture retort, as well as singling out one of the hecklers, “You play in JV.”
Española had specific insults for whenever Daemon Ely touched the ball. They would yell, “Your sister’s better.”
Who knows, really? They’re almost carbon copies. They’re both impressive post players and essential components of their respective basketball teams. If the boys team and the girls team play on the same floor on the same night, there’s almost a sense of déjà vu when Kionamua Ely scores inside, and then an hour later you hear the announcer shouting “Daemon Ely,” after a layup.
Both teams flexed on their first scores. The difference between the two teams in the first half was the scorching hot three-point shooting for the Sundevils. They made seven 3-pointers in that half, one of those from a lucky bounce where it hit the side of the rim, bounced high off the back iron, and then dropped through the hoop. At halftime the Sundevils led 33-26.
The Tigers clawed their way back into the game with their reliable post game from center Elden Torres and Ely. After three quarters of back and forth basketball, the Tigers led 46-41.
Melaki Jones started the fourth quarter with a post up move of his own to bring it within three for the
Sundevils. Then Marin Rodriguez knocked down the game tying 3-pointers, 46-46.
Immediately after, Tiger shooting guard Anthony Padilla, hit a deep 3-pointer to slow down the Sundevils’ momentum and give the Tigers the lead again, 49-46.
Throughout the course of the fourth quarter the Tigers had some mishaps. Ely air-balled a bunny close to the rim. In transition the Sundevils managed to get a clutch defensive strip on Padilla without fouling, preventing an easy two points. Ely blocked Ricky Padilla on a 3-point attempt but Ricky Padilla got the ball back and through some ball handling wizardry slashed through three Tiger defenders and found a layup out of it.
The Tigers will regret missing three out of four clutch free throws in the final minutes in such a close game. Down by three, 55-58, the Tigers had possession of the ball with 28.74 seconds on the clock. Needing three to tie, Anthony Padilla went for a contested off the dribble three-pointer that bounced out.
The Sundevils missed a free throw that would have iced the game, but the Tigers did not capitalize on their next offensive possession. With six seconds to go, and needing to run down the length of the court, the inbound play was broken up by the Sundevils to win the game.
The two teams face off again in Española on Feb. 19.