SOLEDAD — Soledad Aztec boys’ varsity basketball team has become league co-champs for the first time in 16 years.
The last time the Aztecs won a title came back in 2006, when they captured the Mission Trail Athletic League. If they wanted to sit atop of the Pacific Coast Athletic League’s Santa Lucia Division and hang another banner, they had to beat Watsonville High on Feb. 8.
Earlier in the season, Soledad lost to Watsonville, 49-40, on Jan. 18.
One could feel the momentum in the air as the crowd made its way into the Aztecs gym last Tuesday for senior night and an opportunity to see the Aztecs do something they haven’t done in many years: capture the league title.
“Coming into this game, I was nervous,” said Soledad player Jason Mendoza. “This feeling is like this game was a playoff game.”
With a playoff spot already guaranteed for Soledad and Watsonville, the only thing left to settle was the division title. The stakes were simple: an Aztec loss knocked them out of title contention and Watsonville would have to win one of their remaining two games to wrap up the division.
At the beginning of the game, the Aztecs didn’t hold back any punch. They were playing fast and appeared to look faster than Watsonville, beating them on the majority of the loose balls.
Watsonville’s three-ball and their passing to break down the Soledad zone were able to keep them in the game. The Aztecs led 12-10 after the first quarter, with Dominic Chavez scoring five points in the first quarter.
This year’s Soledad team has been interesting to follow because most nights the leading scorer changes from game to game. In this game, Jason Mendoza showed up, scoring 20 points to lead all scorers. The Aztecs took a 28-20 lead going into halftime.
“Once I got my first bucket, I was in the zone,” Mendoza said. “After tonight, I’m feeling good.”
During Soledad’s nine-game winning streak, there were times when they would have a big lead, but then let the other team back into the game.
“For whatever reason, we don’t like to do things the easy way,” said Soledad head coach Nick Twitchell. “We kept getting up by seven/eight, and we let them back in the game.”
That trend continued for the Aztecs coming out of halftime; they saw their eight-point lead disappear with 1:33 left in the third as Watsonville cut it to a one-point game.
Soledad needed every point in this game, and late in the third quarter, Mendoza made sure that his team had a firm lead going into the fourth. In the final minute, he hit a three that got the crowd back in the game.
Mendoza scored Soledad’s last five points in the quarter, giving them a 39-33 lead.
Watsonville didn’t go away in the fourth quarter, hitting a couple of three-pointers to get them back within three with four minutes left.
With the game intensity getting higher as every second ticked away, Soledad capitalized on their hustle and defense down the stretch as they stole six points.
The first came when Soledad center Dilan Lopez saved the ball from going out of bounds and found Mendoza for the easy layup. Next up was Daniel Raso, who was able to get two big-time steals that he converted into points. Raso finished with 12 points.
Going back and forth, the game came down to the last 4.6 seconds left in the fourth. After a questionable Soledad foul, Watsonville — down 48-47 — headed to the free-throw line for two attempts.
According to Coach Twitchell, the Watsonville player doing the free throws made around 90% of his shots all season. That player, however, missed both attempts.
Soledad got the rebound and ran out the clock. When the final horn went off, part of the student section rushed the court to celebrate the Aztecs moving into a tie for first place.
“You have to back up this game,” Twitchell said. “If you don’t back up this game, we won’t reach our goals.”
In order to fully complete their mission of becoming league champs, Soledad also had to defeat Rancho San Juan last Friday. The Aztecs achieved their goals by beating Rancho San Juan, 67-52, clinching at least part of the Santa Lucia Division title.
“I’m feeling great,” Soledad’s Amir Carter said. “To be able to be champs with my brothers is something I’ve always wanted to do, and we did it. I love those guys. We all worked hard for this, and we wouldn’t have been able to do it without our coaches. Very blessed to be around this group of guys.”
With Watsonville beating Gonzales on Tuesday, they will share the title with the Aztecs as co-champs of the Santa Lucia Division.
The CCS basketball playoffs start Friday, Feb. 18.
