St. Michael's reaches title game with 46-44 win over Valley

Dec. 3—A box-and-one defense is a sign of respect toward standout player Adam Montoya.

But it's also a sign of disrespect to the rest of the St. Michael's Horsemen.

When the Albuquerque Valley Vikings adopted that defense late in the third quarter of the Bobby Rodriguez Capital City Tournament semifinal in Toby Roybal Memorial Gymnasium on Friday afternoon, it was an attempt to squeeze the life out of the Horsemen offense.

If only that were the case. The Horsemen showed they are more than just one player down the stretch to pull out a 46-44 win. Marco C'de Baca's leaner from

7 feet with 18 seconds left proved to be the difference. Montoya, with his team-high 14 points, sat on the bench after fouling out minutes before.

The Horsemen (3-0) will play tournament host Santa Fe High, which rolled to a 64-13 win over Santa Fe Indian School, for the tournament title. It is the first appearance by the Horsemen since 2012 and they have a chance to win their first Capital City title since 2011.

St. Michael's held on as Vikings guard Julian Chavez, who peppered the Horsemen for

16 points, missed a baseline jumper and a scrum commenced as the final horn sounded.

C'de Baca admitted he shot the ball too soon, but the defense did its part to close out the win. The words of head coach Gerard Garcia minutes earlier remained in his head during that final stretch.

"Three possessions before that, coach was all, 'Get on the shooters, especially 11 [Chavez] and 13 [Tyler Kozlowski],' " C'de Baca said. "We just locked on them."

Much like Valley tried to lock down Montoya, who has averaged a team-best 16 points per game. That strategy worked early on, as Montoya often forced shots and seemed to try to take on the Vikings all by himself.

Valley staked itself to an early 9-3 lead and still led 16-14 midway through the second quarter before Montoya awoke to the realization the path to victory wasn't solely in his hands.

It came as he sat on the bench with two fouls and the Horsemen steadily forged a 23-20 halftime lead as the duo of C'de Baca and Sabiani Rios scored the last nine points of the quarter for the Horsemen.

"I realized there was more to this team," Montoya said. "They were working together, and if I could just work with them, it could be a good thing."

It showed in the second half. He found Josh Sanchez in transition for a layup with a pass from the wing that gave St. Michael's a 26-22 lead. When Valley tried a box-and-one late in the third quarter, it took just two possessions for the Horsemen to break it when Lucas Gurule drained a corner 3-pointer for a 31-29 lead.

Garcia said it was the surest sign yet that his mantra of trust was breaking through to the Horsemen.

"These guys battled, and that's what it takes every single game," Garcia said.

Horsemen to battle Demons

The Horsemen will find their stiffest challenge yet in the Demons (2-0), who withstood an early charge from the pesky Braves.

SFIS (3-1) rallied from an early 8-2 deficit and scored seven straight points to take a 9-8 lead when Kenyen Callado nailed a pair of free throws with 3:57 left.

It was the nadir of the evening as the Demons harassed the Braves with a physical, full-court press. SFIS scored just two points the rest of the first half and four the rest of the game.

If anyone embodied the energy Santa Fe High displayed, it was senior forward Owen Lock. The All-State defender for the boys soccer team showed he can provide a jolt for the Demons' defense, as he was often in the right place at the right time to stop drives by the Braves and come up with loose balls.

"He' just got a ton of energy, and that's what he did for our soccer team," Demons head coach Zack Cole said. "And he is pretty athletic and lanky. And he's pretty smart, too. He knows what we want to do."

The physical style of play so frustrated the Braves and head coach Jason Abeyta that he picked up a technical foul early in the second quarter. The physical style of play took a toll on the Demons' depth.

Sophomore Bronson Cole, the coach's son, injured his left ankle late in the game after a collision with Callado. He used crutches to leave the gym.

The Demons are already missing forwards Josh Gallegos (shoulder) and Christian Herrera (foot), and Gallegos is out for the season. Their absences, though, opened the door for Lock, and Cole said his son's injury will open the door for someone else to fill that spot.

"It's frustrating with the type of play down the stretch," coach Cole said. "It's unfortunate that it has to happen, but it's part of the game. Got to deal with some adversity, and that's how it is."

ConsolationLos Alamos 61, Española Valley 55The District 2-4A foes gave a little taste of what January and February will be like. The score was tied at 43 heading into the fourth quarter when the Hilltoppers' Niko Gacria knocked down a pair of 3s and the Sundevils never got closer than five points.

Garcia finished with 23 points on the strengths of four triples, Rich Valdez added 16 and Josiah Fresquez had 14. Jayden Martinez had 15 points to pace the Sundevils (0-4).

Los Alamos (1-2) plays Valencia for fifth place at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Española takes on Fairfax (Ariz.) for seventh at 10 a.m.

Valencia 77, Fairfax 51

The Jaguars (1-3) exploded for 44 first-half points and built a 26-point lead at the break.

Damian Estrada had 17 points for Valencia, and Ali Abdullah had 12. The Stampede (0-7) had Edoardo Bartolucci score 11 points.