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ALBUQUERQUE — The bank opened for Jose Posada at 9:35 a.m., and the Texico Wolverines are going for a Class 2A repeat.
Posada banked in a 3-pointer from the left corner as time expired and Texico stunned top-seeded Mesilla Valley 58-57 in a state semifinal contest Friday morning at The Pit.
Texico's only 3-pointer capped a game-ending 17-5 run over 4:27, and dealt the top-seeded Son Blazers another heart-breaking loss against the Wolverines.
Posada's buzzer-beater came in transition after Cody Correa's free throw rimmed out with 6.2 seconds to play. Seth Bailey fired the ball to a streaking Posada, who fired from 25 feet out and paused to check the scoreboard before his teammates mobbed him.
"That was all we could ask for with six seconds and no timeouts," Wolverines coach Richard Luscombe said. "We were definitely taken care of today."
Texico (28-3) will be back at 8:30 a.m. Saturday to play district rival, Santa Rosa in the title game. Santa Rosa beat Mesa Vista 70-61 in overtime in Friday's other semifinal.
The Wolverines fell behind 8-0 Friday and spent most of the game trailing by double-digits, but had a small rally to close out the third quarter before the giant rally to end the contest.
"All we needed was some spark, just a little kind of a run," Luscombe said.
The Wolverines got it, with Jose's brother Mario Posada getting a pair of steals to lead to scores that cut Mesilla Valley's lead to 52-45. The Son Blazers (27-3) got just one field goal the rest of the way and went 4-of-8 from the free throw line — including missing the front end of two one-and-one opportunities.
"We got every shot we wanted," Mesilla Valley coach Terry Adler said. "To be that championship team, you've got to make your shots."
Jose Posada, who had hit a long game-winner earlier in the year, told his brother he would hit one at The Pit. But as he let it fly, he had doubts.
"I was hoping it would go off the glass," said Jose Posada, who finished 2-of-5 from the field with six points, "because it wasn't straight."
The only consolation Adler could give his players was that making Texico's 5-foot-6 sophomore guard beat them was the high-percentage play.
"He's 1-for-4 in the first 31:50," Adler said. "He banked it in, he's got a wrist brace on. That's the shot we want."
But still, as senior Zach Adams said, "it's pretty disappointing."
In their first game against Texico since last year's 58-55 loss in the Class 2A championship, it was evident the Son Blazers remembered, as they forced five Wolverine turnovers in the first five minutes.
But as the game went on, the Wolverines counted on the mid-range game of Lucas Walthers, who scored a game-high 22, and the inside play of Bailey, who added 16.
But Luscombe credited Mario Posada for somewhat neutralizing the Son Blazers' backcourt depth and making plays, notably a steal and layup to beat the third-quarter buzzer, en route to a 10-point morning
"It's little things like those," the veteran Texico coach said, " that give Jose the chance to have the big shot."
Adams led the Son Blazers with 16 points.
Class 2A semifinals
At The Pit
Texico 58, Mesilla Valley 57
Texico (28-3) — Lucas Walthers 7-14 8-12 22, Seth Bailey 3-9 10-14 16, Mario Posada 4-5 2-3 10, Jose Posada 2-5 1-5 6, Levi Richards 1-2 0-0 2, Brett Anderson 1-2 0-1 2, Totals 18-37 21-35 58.
Mesilla Valley (27-3) — Zach Adams 5-11 6-7 16, Scott Adler 5-9 0-1 10, Cody Correa 2-8 5-9 10, Tommy Adler 3-6 0-0 6, Kyle Vasey 2-4 1-1 5, Gret Patti 1-3 2-2 5, Marcus Krohn 1-1 1-2 3, Ryan Diaz 1-1 0-0 2, Sean Harris 0-1 0-1 0, Totals 20-44 15-23 57.
Texico 8 13 13 24 — 58
Mesilla Valley 15 16 10 16 — 57
3-pointers — Texico 1-9 (J. Posada 1-4, Bailey 0-4, M. Posada 0-1), Mesilla Valley 2-6 (Patti 1-1, Correa 1-3, S. Adler 0-1, Adams 0-1). Rebounds — Texico 32 (Anderson 6), Mesilla Valley 33 (T. Adler 7). Total fouls — Texico 19, Mesilla Valley 25. Fouled out — Anderson, T. Adler.
