AL ARMENDARIZ CLASSIC; AGGRESSIVE SUNDEVILS HOLD STRONG IN WIN OVER DONS.

Byline: JAMES BARRON

Richard Martinez didn't see the need to protect Aaron Aragon, so he didn't.

Not when he had four fouls.

And not when the Espanola Valley guard was finally tagged for his fifth and final one with less than 2 minutes to go in the third quarter of a first-round game of the Al Armendariz Classic against West Las Vegas.

Martinez, the Sundevils head coach, didn't need to worry about his absence. It was already 52-31 Espanola, and it eventually turned into a 77-55 final in Capital High's Edward A. Ortiz Memorial Gymnasium.

Besides, he had two or three other guards to call upon and an attitude he didn't want to impede.

"I think the edge these guys have is that they're aggressive," Martinez said. "Sometimes, I think they're too aggressive. But style that we play is hard, hard."

And that's the identity the Sundevils

(8-1) want to keep, especially on the defensive end. Against the Dons, last year's Class AAA state runners-up, AAAA's Espanola imposed its will. It led to 15 first-half turnovers and 23 in the game. Nine came in the first quarter, but the final three proved crucial in pulling away from West Las Vegas.

They sparked an 11-0 run to turn a 9-9 tie into a 20-9 Sundevils lead on Richie Archuleta's 3-pointer at the 7:44 mark of the second.

Three steals and a traveling violation on the Dons (2-4) started a 13-3 spurt in the closing 4:12 of the first half for 45-22 at the half.

The defensive intensity -- whether it came from a full-court press or a half-court trap or a man-to-man defense -- helped the Sundevils snap out of a 3-for-9 start from the field.

The Demons of Santa Fe High will get a second taste of Espanola's in-your-face style in a semifinal at 6 p.m. Santa Fe High lost to the Sundevils 58-49 on Dec. 2. The other semifinal features Capital against Bernalillo at 8 p.m.

"It really got us going in the game," said junior post Gabe Rodriguez, who had 12 points. "It really got us pumped and got our intensity up."

Intensity came with a price. The Sundevils accumulated 16 fouls in the half and 28 for the evening. Aragon had four in the first half and he and post Fabian Valdez eventually fouled out. Aragon still finished with 10 points.

The Sundevils take the foul totals in stride because they can go 10-deep in their rotation. Martinez has no hesitation in using as many as 12 players.

"To rotate 10, 11 players and bring them together as one is a difficult challenge," Martinez said. "Some coaches can do it with five, six players, but to bring around 10 or 12 players and be ready to play come state tournament time? That's what I'm thinking about. I don't care where I'm at right now, but I care where we'll be in a month-and-a-half from now."

West Las Vegas head coach Morgan Montano hopes his inexperienced team learns from what the Sundevils do and put it to good use when February comes around.

"That's a lot of hard work out there (by Espanola), and we're trying to make up a lot of ground with young players," Montano said. "I was happy with our effort, but at the same time we got to take good experiences like playing Espanola and build on it."

IN OTHER GAMES

Capital 53, Valencia 32

Capital trumped its Valencia County brethren of the same nickname for the third time in as many weeks, but this was Valencia's best effort yet. Valencia (0-7) was within 13-10 with less then 4 minutes left in the first half before a closing 9-2 run gave Capital (5-3) some relief.

The margin eventually grew to 36-21 at the end of the third and 53-29 on Reece Goodman's layup with less then 50 seconds remaining.

Goodman finished with 13 points, and Isaiah Bustamante added 11.

Curtis Peralta's 13 points paced Valencia.

Santa Fe High 67,

Pueblo (Colo.) West 64 (OT)

The Demons (4-2) outscored the Cyclones 15-12 in the extra period. Michael Dean had six of his 14 points in the overtime, and hit 3 of 4 free throws. Teddy Roybal had a team-high 16 points and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the line down the stretch as the Demons hit 16 of 25 attempts in all. Roybal also hit four of Santa Fe High's seven 3-pointers.

Zach Fillmore led Pueblo West with

15 points, and Aaron Drake added 14. The Cyclones play West Las Vegas in a consolation semifinal.

Bernalillo 64, Piedra Vista 50

The Spartans (3-2) erased a 23-21 halftime deficit by outscoring the Panthers 19-5 in the third quarter to advance to a semifinal. Chris Garnand led Bernalillo with

19 points, Kellen Quintana added 13 and Ivan Luna scored 10 in the low post.

Piedra Vista, which plays Valencia in a consolation semifinal, had a trio of players with 10 points -- Dominic Valdez, Jordan Colebrook and Andre Romero.