Knights Win First Title in Program History

The top-seeded Del Norte Knights came into this afternoon's contest riding a 10-game winning streak while the second-seeded Artesia Bulldogs were on a eight-game win streak. The Bulldogs scored the game's first four points, but from there they would struggle mightily from the field.

Shane Douma-Sanchez led an 11-2 rally to end the first quarter for the Knights, as the standout sophomore tallied the final nine points for his team. Del Norte held Artesia to just 1-11 shooting from the field in the second quarter, but the Bulldogs were able to capitalize on their opportunities from the charity stripe, going 10-13 and keeping themselves within striking distance. Douma-Sanchez and Judah Casaus each scored six points apiece for the Knights in the second quarter to lead their team to a 25-19 halftime edge. Despite Artesia shooting just 3-16 and having 15 first-half turnovers, it was just a two-possession game. On his team, defensive performance Head Coach Jeron McIntosh said, "These guys just paid attention to detail and followed the scouting report. Our anchor down low [Xavier Evans] was blocking and disrupting shots, these guys did a good job."

Following a pair of Johntae Rodriguez free throws, the Bulldogs closed to 28-23 with 5:13, but the Knights responded with a 6-0 burst to run their lead out to 34-23 as Artesia continued to struggle with their shots. Rodriguez canned a three from the top of the key to spark a 7-0 run for Artesia and sway the momentum into the favor of the Bulldogs. However, it was short-lived as Casaus buried a three in front of the Del Norte bench as the buzzer sounded and Del Norte took a 37-30 lead into the final quarter. "That shot was huge for us, it gave us back the momentum and these guys have done that all year. We have done a lot of just give these two [Casaus and Douma-Sanchez] the ball and let them make a play and they have made plays." McIntosh said. Casaus added, "I was just ready to hit that shot and go into the fourth quarter strong and win the game."

In the fourth quarter it was the Knights defense that again rose to the challenge and completely shut down the Bulldog offense, Artesia went 1-10 in the final frame as Del Norte would lead by as many as 13 before winning by the final score of 52-41 to collect the first state championship in program history. "It's been overwhelming the number of alumni and people in the community, the outreach and support we have gotten has been enormous and it just feels so good to do it for them and they are a part of this," McIntosh commented. Douma-Sanchez led all scorers with 23 points and right behind him was Casaus who added 15. With both Douma-Sanchez and Casaus both being sophomores Del Norte is in prime position to remain in the 4A driver's seat over the next two years."I hope so [this is the regular] we have a lot of sophomores and we all stepped up, I think we are going to be around for a while," Douma-Sanchez said. McIntosh added. "These guys are hungry, having a good sophomore group that has played a lot is helpful but our seniors started this and were the foundation for this and these guys just took over the reins."

Final Stats

Del Norte

Shane Douma-Sanchez 23 points and 5 rebounds

Judah Casaus 15 points

FG: 18-44

3PT: 6-19

FT: 10-16

Artesia

Nick Sanchez 21 points

Johntae Rodriguez 14 points

FG: 8-39

3PT: 2-9

FT: 23-29