Pecos came through with a gallant effort in getting to this season’s state 2A semifinals

The truth is, the Pecos boys had a surprising, remarkable basketball season.

After four-straight state championships, they graduated the entire starting team, head coach Ira Harge, Jr., left for Espanola Valley as its athletic director, and this just wasn’t expected to be a season in which they again hoisted the championship trophy.

But lo and behold, the Panthers, under new head coach Art Gonzales, went 11-4 overall, again won District 6-2A, and got as far as the state semifinals before losing Wednesday night, 61-43, to undefeated, top-ranked Jal at Portales,

This was their toughest test. The other Panthers, Jal, had dominated 14 other opponents, had an experienced squad under head coach Eduardo Lujan, and size, as in 6-foot-5, 250-pound junior Rogelo Carreon, who turned in the game-high 24 points, brought down a dozen rebounds, and had five shot blocks.

“They were just too big,” said Gonzales. “They pounded the ball inside, and if they didn’t score, they went to the foul line. But our kids fought as usual, we just had trouble containing them.”

Jal, which now plays also unbeaten Gallup Rehoboth Christian Friday for the state title at the University of New Mexico’s Dreamstyle Arena, led from the start. It was 16-9 after one quarter in which there were three ties, and 30-23 at halftime.

Then it went on a third quarter run to up the lead to 45-33, and the closest Pecos got was at 53-43 with only two minutes left as the other Panthers went on a 4-minute drought.

Jal also picked up 16 points from the coaches son, Andres, a 6-foot junior, while Pecos did not have much luck putting the ball in the basket. It connected on only 21 of 66 shots and didn’t make a 3-pointer until 5-8 senior Dana Benavidez found the range with about eight minutes remaining that cut the lead to 47-36.

“That was about it,” said Gonzales. “We usually were able to get the ball inside or run the floor, but they were just too big inside and slowed us down with an aggressive defense.”

Jodaiah Padilla, a 5-10 sophomore whose older brother, Javier, played a big part in the state championship years, scored the team-high 17 points and 6-1 junior Isaiah Sandoval added 14. Benavidez is the only senior on the varsity roster.

“We had plenty of respect for them,” said Lujan, “but my kids were on a mission to win state, and we are now a win away.”

It just wasn’t a night for the boys. Previously undefeated top-seeded Robertson lost for the first time in 13 starts, 55-51, to 4th-seeded Albuquerque Sandia Prep (11-1), which will play 2nd-seeded Hot Springs (12-1), which eliminated 3rd-seeded Navajo Prep, for the state title Friday.

But on Tuesday, all went well for the 4th-seeded Espanola Valley (9-3) boys in 4A. They ousted 5th-seeded Kirtland Central and now hit the road to play at top-seeded Albuquerque Del Norte (11-1) today. In the other semis, it’s 2nd-seeded Artesia (10-3) against 3rd-seeded Gallup (10-1).