Big is beautiful.

And it was a beautiful sight when Dan Van Essen came charging downcourt with history and Peñasco staring the 6-foot-5 Santa Fe Preparatory senior post in the face.

In one catch-and-shoot moment, Van Essen helped the Blue Griffins put to bed one of the more vexing hexes they've had to overcome. His transition layup opened up a 59-55 lead and spurred Prep on to a 66-60 win in the District 2AA opener in Prep Gymnasium on Monday night.

Van Essen went from one end of the court to the other to help break the Panthers' swarming full-court press.

After an outlet pass, he chugged to the basket and took a Joey Lambert pass in for a layup and foul at the 3-minute, 10-second mark of the fourth quarter that gave the Blue Griffins (15-3 overall) a crucial opening.

It was the kind of play Prep hadn't made against the Panthers. Last season, Peñasco beat the Blue Griffins in all three matchups, and left them Class AA State Tournament observers instead of participants.

"It's good to get over that hump," Van Essen said. "It was really important for us to win this game. I don't remember the last time we beat Peñasco."

Well, it hadn't happened under Van Essen's watch. He and the other three seniors were 0-4 in their careers. That fact wasn't lost on head coach Dennis Casados and his staff.

"We talked about that before warm-ups," Casados said. "These are the kids that have kept them from going further, and the kids came out and answered the call."

But for a moment -- and a brief one at that -- it had all the makings of another Panthers' comeback.

Trailing 57-47 with 5:30 left, Peñasco scored eight straight points, capped by Alfred Gonzales' pair of free throws with 3:18 left.

While the moment was ripe for the picking, Peñasco head coach Manuel Romero was concerned with the amount of energy his team spent just to get to that point.

The Panthers (6-11) had rallied from deficits of 20-12, 38-24 and 57-47.

"We dug ourselves a hole," Romero said. "We got down too big in that first half. With a good team like Santa Fe Prep, those are hard obstacles to overcome. We had to work really hard."

It was apparent that they worked too hard in the final minutes. Peñasco missed three of its last four shots and were only 2-for-4 from the free-throw line. There also was no answer for Prep's post play.

Will Lenfestey, a 6-3 sophomore, scored in a layup off a dish from Ryan Evaldson for 61-56 with 1:22 left to finish a 14-point night that was second only to Van Essen's 24.

The pair had 19 of Prep's 28 second-half points as it stayed true to the inside-out philosophy that has worked so well this season.

"In our other games, like against Springer and Coronado, we were shooting a lot of 3s," Evaldson said. "We were kind of getting outside our zone -- kicking it in and they would collapse on them and they kick it back out. It makes it that much easier."

The Blue Griffins were 5-for-6 from the stripe in the final minute to preserve the victory.

But this is just Round 1 of eight district games in 28 days that matter the most.

Prep hits the road to Mora on Thursday, where its next big game comes against the Rangers, the fourth-ranked team in AA. Then comes No. 6 Pecos on Feb. 2.

The road to an elusive district title for Prep (it last won it in 1995) is only at the beginning stages.

"There are no weak sisters in this district," Casados said. "You've got be ready to play every night, whether it's home or away."

It helps to be big.

Contact James Barron at jbarron@sfnewmexican.com or 986-3045. Read his blog at thereadbarron.com.