Pojoaque Valley High School boys basketball, with an 0-3 start to the season, needed a spark. They trailed early and were struggling on both ends of the floor.
But the Elks switched to a full-court press defense in the second quarter, with a heavy rotation of the bench, and that made all the difference as they quickly turned the Monday game around and took control in the second half of their 60-50 victory at Moriarty.
“That press was a game changer,” said Pojoaque coach Jason Mossman. “It forced them to play ball the way we want to play ball. It was a momentum changer.”
Mossman said between the requirement to wear masks and the limited bench, he was shying away from the press defense to keep everyone rested for the end of the game.
“But now that our bench has stepped up and proved that they’ve earned their minutes, you’ll probably see more of that press from us,” said Mossman.
In the first quarter, a slow shooting start hurt Pojoaque, with the Elks stuck at just two points for much of the quarter, and they trailed 14-7 after eight minutes.
“Our defense really stepped up,” said senior Matt Valdez, who scored all seven of the team’s points in the first quarter, but only four for the rest of the game. “Our guys on the bench, they really came through for us in this game. They stepped up big time for us.”
The second quarter was a major turnaround when Pojoaque switched to a pressing defense, and found instant success forcing turnovers, scoring in transition, and especially getting to the free-throw line. The Elks shot 14 free throws in the second quarter alone, and made 13 of them, and had already taken the lead by halftime, 21-20.
Mossman said the team was “shaking off some of the cobwebs” from their last game against Taos two days prior, where they fell behind in the fourth quarter en route to a loss.
Pojoaque stayed hot in the second half, though a technical foul call let Moriarty get within one point at 30-29. From there, the Elks ran away with the game, finishing the quarter with a 14-4 run to take a double-digit lead.
“Everybody from the bench played tonight,” Mossman said. “I wanted to show the rest of the team that the guys that help the starters in practice can help us in games, too. We didn’t have any letdowns with our subs, as a matter of fact I think we gained some ground.”
And in the fourth quarter, the Elks extended the lead to as many as 14 points, with plenty of production coming from bench players, before closing out the 60-50 win.
“It means a lot, our first win of the season,” said Valdez. “We’ve got to continue with this intensity down the road, and we’ve just got to continue to play this way. We can’t let off the gas.”
“We don’t overlook anybody,” Mossman said. “We said in there, we got the monkey off our back, and now we can just relax and play our game, and play hard like we want to.”
Sean Aragon led the Elks with 17 points, and Lukus Archibeque added 14.
Earlier in the evening, the Pojoaque junior varsity team outran Moriarty to a 56-24 win. Andres Terrazas nearly outscored the entire Pinto team, scoring 20 points in the game.
Pojoaque moves to 1-3 on the season, and 1-1 in district play. They next host Española on April 16, and Mossman said they are looking to confirm a potential last-minute game for April 15.
Mossman also stressed that his team is succeeding academically as well. He said they conducted a recent grade check, and have a Grade Point Average of 3.1, and he would like to get it up to 3.5.
Valdez is excited about what the win means for the team going forward.
“We can compete with anybody,” Valdez said. “I say we can go really far in this district, and I say we can win district.”