ALBUQUERQUE — Española Valley head coach Richard Martinez, for better or worse, lives and dies with every moment of Sundevils basketball.

So it should come as little surprise to those that know him or have watched Española play that Martinez spent most of the time in a news conference after the biggest game in the history of that small community ranting against a carrying call on junior point guard Rodney Coles in the final 2 minutes of the game.

For Martinez, and probably plenty of Sundevils faithful, memories of that call will stir anger and frustration for years.

It will not be a reason Española Valley did not hoist the blue trophy at the Class AAAA Boys State Basketball Tournament, as so many, for so long, had hoped.

It will be the reason.

Never mind that the Sundevils took the lead after that call. Forget that they had opportunities to stop Roswell, as they had done plenty of times Saturday afternoon inside a yellow-tinged Pit.

Don't even think about the two possessions Española Valley had after that play, which could have given the Sundevils the title.

It was a single play.

Some will agree with the validity and timing of the call.

Some won't.

But looking at the entire game reveals that inconsistency on offense and defense probably played a greater role in Española Valley's heart-shattering 63-60 loss to No. 1 seed Roswell.

And much of that can be attributed to the height advantage the defending champ Coyotes held.

In the opening quarter, Roswell's big men blocked two of Española Valley's first seven shots. The Coyotes blocked four more by halftime and it seemed to effect the Sundevils' aggression.

"Yeah," said Roswell's 6-foot-8 forward Marek Olesinski. "I don't think they really wanted to drive because they knew what was waiting inside for them."

As a result, Española Valley attempted to score from the perimeter for most of the opening half.

The Sundevils are a perimeter-oriented team, but fired the same amount of 3s in this game (21) as they had in the previous two rounds combined. And a much higher percentage of Española Valley's shots came from the outside in the championship game (38 percent) than the other rounds (27 percent). Those earlier games came against competition of similar build.

When the Sundevils' shots didn't fall, Roswell's lead swelled. When those shots dropped, as they did for much of the third quarter, Española Valley took control.

Martinez did not believe that Roswell's height advantage contributed to the loss.

"No factor," Martinez said. "They had their strengths. We had ours. We battled inside. (Roswell's A.J.) Peralta's a good post player. We got Gabriel (Rodriguez), we got Luis (Alvarado). We got some big men inside the paint. "

Near the end of the game, it wasn't because Española Valley attacked the rim to get better shots. Trailing 56-48 the Sundevils scored 10 of their final 11 points at the rim. The lone exception was a free throw that came as an and-one situation, when Aaron Aragon was fouled on his way to the hoop and converted a layup.

"Once we got some foul trouble, they did get a drive or two because (Peralta) was kind of handcuffed," Roswell head coach Britt Cooper said. "It worked out. We got some big rebounds when we needed them as well. The defense stiffened up when it had to."

Unfortunately for Española Valley and its fans, the Sundevils can't say the same.

Too often when Roswell needed points, the Coyotes were able to work the ball into Peralta (18 points) or Olesinski (15 points). That efficiency was a critical factor in the shooting percentages of each team — 54 percent for Roswell and 39 percent for Española Valley.

And even then, the Sundevils had a shot that could have tied the game at the end, a decent look at a 3-pointer by Coles.

"We'll shoot the perimeter shot," Martinez said. "We had some good looks."