The Pojoaque Elks and Mesa Vista Trojans tipped off their Nov. 29 game in Ojo Caliente ready to maintain early season winning streaks. But a quick start by the Elks helped them secure a 69-61 victory.
The Elks, the defending Class AAA state champions, have started the season 3-0, and the Trojans, a Class AA team, dropped to 3-1.
Pojoaque coach Joey Trujillo said it was a very good win for the Elks.
“It is nice to play at Mesa Vista, my hometown,” Trujillo said. “We seemed to struggle our first two games of the season, but tonight they came together as a team and played well.”
The Elks jumped out to a 17-2 lead in the first quarter before the Trojans cut the deficit to eight points by the end of the quarter.
With two minutes left in the second quarter, Frank Giron, hit a three-pointer to bring the Trojans within three points. Then the Elks’ Luke Salazar answered with a three-point play. At the end of the second quarter, the Elks led 34-27.
The Elks used a full-court press in the first half to slow down the Trojans, who love to fast-break. Mesa Vista coach Thomas Vigil had his team come out in the second half with a full-court defense that created several turnovers, but the Elks soon slowed down the press and were able to handle Mesa Vista’s full-court press.
The Elks continued their press and managed to create a few turnovers. With 6:38 left in the third quarter, Estevan Trujillo nailed a three-pointer to bring the Trojans within two points, 34-32. Salazar responded again, this time by scoring seven points in the quarter.
The Trojans’ Jamie Cruz Jr. also scored seven of 22 points in the third quarter, but it was just enough to keep the Trojans within shooting distance (a seven-point deficit) going into the fourth quarter.
To start the final quarter, Tom Nakotte made two three-pointers that helped the Elks extend their lead into double digits. With 2:03 left to play, Giron made a long three-pointer to bring the Trojans within five points. But the Elks kept their cool and continued scoring and sinking their free throws to hold on for the win.
Salazar led Pojoaque with 13 points. Christian Baca added 12 points and Orlando Trujillo, Michael Perez and Ryan Sullivan each had 10 points. Giron added 18 points for Mesa Vista.
Vigil said his team showed a lot of character against Pojoaque.
“Take nothing away from Pojoaque, they’re not the state champs for no reason, but our boys missed key shots and some free throws,” Vigil said. “They jumped on us the first quarter and it was hard to recover. I hate to lose, but the boys played hard and with lots of heart.”
The Trojans will visit Adams State University in Alamosa, Colo., Thursday (12/4) for the Grizzly Shoot Out. Pojoaque hosted Capital High School Tuesday night.