By Glen Rosales
Special to the SUN

Coming into the boys Class 2A state basketball tournament, third seeded Mesa Vista was simply looking for a challenge out of No. 14 Hozho Academy.

In the eyes of Trojans coach Thomas Vigil, mission accomplished.

Sure, with Saturday’s final 80-56, it may not have looked like much of a struggle, but Vigil said the outcome does not really indicate how well the Wolves pushed Mesa Vista, which faced No. 6 Rehoboth Christian on Tuesday in the quarterfinals.

“Hozho’s a good team,” Vigil said. “They were well coached and they have some good athletes. The fact that we were able to win that game that comfortably shows that we played well. Our guys came to play.”

The Trojans (24-4) actually trailed 8-2 early before they got untracked, thanks in large part to Santiago Martinez, who turned in the half of his life with 17 points, including three 3-pointers and 11 points in the first quarter.

“That’s how we got the lead and we just extended it from there,” Vigil said. “They all played really well. A lot of good effort offensively and on defense. We played typical Mesa Vista basketball. The guys who needed to show up showed up and that’s how we walked out with a comfortable win.”

Martinez shared game-high honors with teammate Jordan Gallegos, each going for 22 points. Ezequiel Nevarez added 14 and Andres Valdez had 12, all in the second half.

“I thought we played well,” Vigil said. “We sustained a whole game. About 30 of the 32 minutes were well played for us. We just kind of did what we do.”

Although Mesa Vista can light up the scoreboard as well as any team in the state, the Trojans’ calling card is the way they can clamp down defensively.

“Our half-court defense is solid right now,” he said. “It’s something we hang our hat on. They hit some tough shots, some threes, even banked one in. But we were making them work for every single shot they got.”

It also helped to have some hometown cooking.

“The Mesa Vista gym has been alive all year long,” Vigil said. “Saturday was no different. A great crowd. Everybody in black and gold. It was a great environment. It was loud in there. It was a fun game and fun environment to coach in.”

The Trojans had a solid scouting report going into the game, so the squad was confident, he said.

“We prepared for them, we knew what their personnel looked like,” Vigil said. “But the thing is, right now it’s more about adjustments, not completely revamping what you do. You want to make adjustments to maximize your strengths and minimize your weaknesses. We were able to impose our will a little bit more than they were. That’s what it boils down to at this point of the season.”

And having that challenge to start the tournament simply helps prepare the Trojans for what they are hoping are three games, ending with a blue trophy.

“Every game in the state tournament is so tough and the margin of errors is so fine, you want to get competitive games,” Vigil said. “Despite what the score was, Hozho was a competitive team. They were a test. It wasn’t a walk in the park for us at all.”