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Buzzer basket by senior Victor Salcido makes for an exciting finish for the Demons, while Sundevils pull away from the Jaguars in the second half
By Arnie Leshin
It was down to the final shot and Santa Fe High senior Victor Salcido came though.
And with it, his 3-point basket from the corner brought the visiting Demons a 60-58 win over Clovis in District 2-6A. Not only that, but it’s always good to travel 215 miles and return with a victory. It put Santa Fe High at 10-9 overall and 2-1 in district.
The Wildcats led 34-23 at halftime, and then extended it to a 19-point advantage in the third quarter. But the Demons responded by scoring nine straight points and cutting the deficit to 44-39. Salcido, the team’s leading scorer, led the way with 19 points and Antonio Lovato turned in 16.
Trailing by 19 points in the third quarter, Santa Fe High answered with a late run in the fourth quarter to trail by 58-57 with 16 seconds remaining and gaining possession of the ball on a forced turnout. First, Christian Kavanaugh failed on a driving layup, but he also forced a tie-up that gave the Demons possession again.
They had no time outs, but Clovis did and its head coach, Scott Robinson, called one, which in turn set up the visitors for a final shot. So the ball went to Salcido on the wing and he tossed up the shot that won it at the final buzzer.
It dropped the Wildcats to 10-9 overall and 1-2 in district. And the district is beginning to realize that these Demons are a tough opponent.
At Espanola Valley in District 2-5A, round one of its rivalry with Capital went to the Sundevils in a 83-65 result between the two main contenders in the district. It was close in the first half, neither team led by more than six points, and at halftime Espanola led 31-26.
But the second half belonged to the Sundevils. They erupted for 52 points in that span and all the Jaguars could do was try to cut into the deficit, getting as close as 10 points in the final minutes before a capacity crowd at Medina gymnasium.
But as much as Capital tried, the Sundevils had too much ammunition with point guard Christian Fernandez, who scored 19 of his game-high 23 points, in the second half.
Meanwhile 6-foot-4 post Alex Salazar controlled the backboards for Espanola and was tough to contain inside. In all, he tossed in 17 points and came down with 15 rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. Guard AP Sena added 22 points.
The Sundevils advanced to 18-1, with the one loss to 6A Rio Rancho, and they are 2-0 in district. Capital dropped to 16-4 and is all even in district at 1-1.
Six-four junior Matt Smith had only five points for the Jaguars, with all of them coming in the first half. Antonio TJ Sanchez had Capital’s team-high 14 points, 10 coming the second half, and Tyler Alarid tossed in 14.
What brought about the Sundevils’ turnaround that decided the second half was taking better shots, hustling for loose balls, attacking the backboards, and playing more aggressive defense.
Their biggest lead was 14 in the third quarter and 25 in the fourth. Capital cut the deficit to 12 in the final three minutes, but couldn’t sustain the momentum. They meet up again Feb. 8 in Santa Fe.
In other boys games, Bernalillo overwhelmed East Mountain in District 5-4A, 56-28, New Mexico School for the Deaf over Santa Fe Waldorf, 77-76,
in overtime in 1-1A, Portales took a 56-53 win over Ruidoso in 5-4A, Estancia topped Magdalena, 90-88, in the clash of 3A Estancia versus 2A Magdalena.
And in 2-6A, it was the Albuquerque schools, with La Cueva rolling over Sandia, 62-43, Eldorado over Manzano, 79-59, and in 1-6A, undefeated Las Cruces turned in a 63-37 win over Mayfield, and 3A Espanola McCurdy defeated 2A Penasco, 87-57.
