Here was a rare instance where Joe Coleman and Ray Rodriguez both were having déjà vu.
Coleman, Valley High School’s boys basketball coach, watched his team nearly complete an impressive comeback before losing 60-54 at Cibola on Friday night.
“I’m sick and tired of losing by five and six points to all these really good teams,” Coleman said.
A few doors away, Rodriguez, Cibola’s head coach, was also having a flashback — back to opening night of the 2011-12 season.
It was on that night that Cibola blew a double-digit lead at La Cueva in the final few minutes and lost in overtime.
Friday’s performance, in which the Cougars were up 17 late in the third quarter but had to hang on for dear life at the end, reminded Rodriguez of that OT loss.
“I don’t think we played very sharp down the stretch, especially offensively,” said Rodriguez. “We had been playing good down the stretch with the lead (since that game against La Cueva). This was the first time since that La Cueva game that we looked shaky.”
Rodriguez has cited Cibola’s recent ability to close out games as evidence that the Cougars were turning the corner.
But even if the Cougars were struggling at the finish, they still got a win, the eighth straight for a team tied with La Cueva for No. 5 in the latest Class 5A coaches’ poll.
“Valley is a lot better than people think,” Rodriguez said.
The Vikings, perhaps showing the effects of a tough loss the night before at No. 3 Eldorado, were relatively ineffective in the first half.
Cibola defended extremely well, and used a 13-0 run to lead 30-17 at halftime.
Valley’s offense was not only silent but mostly absent for the final quarter-and-a-half before halftime. The Vikings made just one field goal in nearly 12 1/2 minutes.
“They just physically kicked our tails in the first half,” Coleman said.
There was very little going on of an interesting nature in this game until there was 2:17 remaining.
That was when Valley’s Robert Armijo had a three-point play to bring Valley to within six at 55-49, and suddenly the game had the attention of a big crowd at Cibola.
The Vikings cut the deficit some more over the next few moments — first to five (55-50), then to four (56-52) and finally three (56-53) with 39.6 seconds to go after a free throw from Anthony Santillanes.
Cibola answered with a late free throw from John Thompson, two from Croix Sedillo and one more from Kevin Saiz.
Valley never had the ball in its hands with a chance to tie in that final minute.
The Vikings got back into the game for several reasons — better defense, poor free-throw shooting by Cibola, and Valley having sophomore guard Armijo and post Marcus Mora on the floor for most of the fourth quarter.
“It was kind of a perfect storm to get them back in it,” Rodriguez said.
Mora and Armijo both had major foul trouble all night, but were able to get through the game without fouling out.
Cibola only made 13 of its 26 free-throw tries in the second half.
“I know they missed some free throws, but I’ll give my guys some credit for being aggressive and playing harder,” Coleman said. “You miss some free throws when you are tired.”
The Cougars had balanced scoring, with six players scoring at least seven points. Sedillo’s 11 led the way. Devon Vallejos had nine, with James Healy, Marcus Tenorio and Ross Buchman scoring eight apiece. Saiz finished with seven points.
Santillanes of the Vikings led everyone with 17 points. Armijo scored all 11 of his points in the fourth quarter, and Mora finished with 10.
Also Friday
Sandia’s girls routed Rio Grande 64-42, despite 19 points from the Ravens’ Jocelyn Gamboa. … The Rio Grande boys went on the road and beat Gallup 62-54, as guard Nick Ortega nailed seven 3-pointers and scored 25 points. Mike Torrez chipped in with 17 for the 6-7 Ravens.
Thursday
In boys’ action, Seth Warfield had 15 points for Volcano Vista in a 52-41 loss to visiting Sandia. The Hawks played without leading scorer Sam Haywood, who was benched for disciplinary reasons. … Valley led Eldorado with four minutes to go, but the Eagles used a 19-5 run to win 59-47. Santillanes had 16 points, Joe Anaya 15 for the Vikings.
In girls’ action, No. 1 Eldorado thumped Valley 67-38. Jordan Gutierrez led the Vikes with 11 points. … West Mesa outlasted Atrisco Heritage Academy 55-49 in overtime, as sophomore Ray Davison scored 17 points. The Mustangs forced OT with a late basket in regulation. Jasmyne Muñoz had 11 points to pace the Jaguars. … Gamboa and Ashley Gallegos each had 16 points for Rio Grande in a 54-45 win over visiting Belen. Gamboa made four 3-pointers. … Santa Rosa defeated Bosque School 76-51 despite 34 points from the Bobcats’ Louisa Mackenzie.
Wednesday
Rio Grande’s boys fell 66-54 at home to La Cueva. The Ravens buried 10, 3-pointers in the loss, including three each from Jaylen Spraggins, Torrez and Ortega.
Reprint story -- Email the reporter at jyodice@abqjournal.com.
