It was a good time to be home during the holidays for the Pojoaque Valley High School basketball teams.
When all was said and done after three days of hoops at Ben Luján Gymnasium for the 20th annual boys and the 28th annual girls Ben Luján Tournament, the host Elks and Elkettes were each crowned champions of their respected brackets.
Each of the championship games took place on Dec. 21 at Pojoaque’s home gymnasium, where the Elks defeated Santa Fe Indian School 72-61 and the Elkettes thumped Bernalillo High School 59-35 in the teams’ third matchup of the season.
Playing with smarts
Boys head coach Thomas Vigil said his team’s performance in the championship game was the second time this season the Elks have not just played hard enough, but smart enough to win.
The first came in what he called a turning point game against Mayfield High School on Dec. 14 in the Hub City Invitational in Belen. Pojoaque won by the close margin of 56-54 on that night, but things wouldn’t be quite as close against the Braves.
The Elks were fueled by defensive passion and determination and of course their smarts, running by the Indian School in a game that was not as close as the final score would suggest.
Pojoaque led by as many as 17 points in the second half thanks to Zach Hall’s football-style assist to a streaking Dante Ortiz with 4:44 remaining in the third quarter, and every time the Braves made a push in the third, the Elks held steady.
Indian School would slightly chip away at the deficit, and with the Elks leading 61-51 entering the final eight minutes, Pojoaque was able to survive scoring only one bucket from the field in the fourth, which was a strong drive to the basket by Noah Dela Cruz.
The senior’s bucket extended the Elks’ lead to 63-51 with 6:11 remaining, and Pojoaque would add the final nine points from the charity stripe – all while shooting 90 percent (9-of-10).
“We showed resilience and we didn’t get frustrated, which we probably would have in the past,” Vigil said. “We’ve let calls affect the way we played before but now we’re growing; at least it seems like we’re growing.”
Reserve Andrew Garcia did some heavy lifting while the Elks produced two 23-point quarters in the first half. The junior post notched eight points in the second quarter – six via the free throw line – and scored 12 of his team-leading 14 over the first 16 minutes.
Dela Cruz cashed in 13 points, while Sean Aragon and Ortiz both produced 11. The Braves were carried by Debrylan Candelario, who scored a game-high 23 points and tallied 14 of the Indian School’s 17 points in the third quarter.
The Elks dominated Crownpoint High School 70-20 and handled Monte Del Sol 64-32 en route to winning their first Bel Luján title since 2015.
Homecookin’
From the moment Ashten Martinez leaped in the air for the opening tip against the Lady Spartans, there was never a doubt to follow.
Pojoaque scored the first eight points of the game and built a 44-18 lead heading into the final quarter, all while its defense suffocated Bernalillo the entire night.
The Lady Spartans were limited to four points in the first quarter and only scored two in the third, a quarter where Pojoaque came out of the locker room to open on an 11-0 run.
The Elkettes triumphed by as many 31 points in the game (56-25), erasing any sour tastes they may have had after losing to Bernalillo 60-51 in the semifinals of the Alice King Invitational on Dec. 13.
Aiding to Pojoaque’s inspiring play was seeing the lights inside Ben Lujan Gymnasium for the first time this year in game action, as the Elkettes trekked across the state for their first eight contests of the season.
“It was nice to see home, and today to eat some homecookin’ in the hospitality room,” Pojoaque head coach Seledon Martinez said in reference to his wife Geri, who supplied the Frito pies for the day. “I’m prouder than heck of my kids; I love my team and we got some kids that are a little bit down than what we’ve had in the past but they’re coming to.”
The only players who were down on this night where suited in red, gray and white, as Bernalillo struggled mightily from the field – shooting only 33 percent and making just seven of their first 29 field goal attempts.
There was a stretch where the Lady Spartans’ field goal with 2:12 remaining in the second quarter wasn’t followed by another basket until 4:30 left in the third when Juliana Aragon scored a 2-pointer.
Aragon burned Pojoaque for 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting at the Alice King, but the sophomore was only able to manage 12 this time, with just five through the first three quarters.
“I had thoughts about it since last week on how to stop her, but we weren’t going to stop her because she’s one of the best players in the state,” coach Martinez said. “We just had to slow her down and make the rest of the team beat us and tonight, we took her out of her element.”
Tonni Aquino led Pojoaque with 11 points, Anissa Herrera chipped in nine and Hennessei Calabaza recorded all eight of her points in the third quarter. Alicia Sanchez countered with eight points also, all in the first half.
The win marked the third consecutive Ben Lujan girls championship for the Elkettes, who made their way to the final by defeating Crownpoint 54-23 and Santa Rosa High School 67-34.