“Should it have counted?”
That was the question on Pojoaque Elk fans lips after their team suffered another heart-breaking defeat to the St. Michaels Horsemen, this time on a basket that went in with no time left on the clock.
David Gonzales’ putback with .00 on the clock in overtime went through the basket to give the Horsemen a 51-49 victory over Pojoaque in a key District 2AAA game between the two bitter rivals Feb. 20 in Santa Fe.
Pojoaque coach Joey Trujillo, whose team has lost 13 straight games to the Horsemen, didn’t want to talk about the final shot.
“What can you do? It’s not going to change,” Trujillo said. “We played hard, we lost and we’re going to work hard and be back here Friday.”
With eight seconds left in overtime, Pojoaque point guard Orlando Trujillo had driven to the basket and banked in a shot that had tied the score 49-49. St. Michaels guard Jordan Romero, foregoing a time out, quickly brought the ball downcourt. Romero, a four-year starter for St. Michaels, drove to the basket and encountered a staunch Pojoaque defense that forced him to throw up an awkward shot.
The ball bounced off the side of the backboard and right into Gonzales’ hands. He banked in the winner with zeros showing on the game clock.
St. Michaels does not have a clock that indicates tenths of a second and the raucous noise in the sold out St. Michaels gym prevented many from hearing the final buzzer. Pojoaque fans felt the basket shouldn’t have counted, but the officials had raced off the floor — without checking at the scorers’ table as to whether time had expired before the shot — and the score stood.
St. Michaels finished the regular season 19-7 and 10-0 in District 2AAA. The Horsemen will host the district championship game Friday.
Pojoaque finished 17-9 and 8-2 in districts with both losses coming to St. Michaels. The Elks will host the semifinals Wednesday (2/25)
St. Michaels had led 9-8 at the end of the first quarter and 29-23 at halftime. The Horsemen opened up a 10-point lead in the third quarter. Pojoaque’s Tom Nakotte finally nailed a three-pointer — Pojoaque’s first of the game — to make the score 40-33 at the end of the third quarter.
It could have been worse had not St. Michaels missed six free throws in the third quarter.
The Elks began their comeback in the fourth quarter. Utilizing a stifling full-court press, Pojoaque produced turnover after turnover, while a tentative St. Michaels had trouble scoring. With 1:58 left in the game, Pojoaque’s B. J. Roybal brought the Elks to within a point of the Horsemen with a basket.
St. Michaels worked the ball inside to Justin Smith, who put the Horsemen ahead 45-42 with a basket inside. Pojoaque came down and Justin Trujillo, who hadn’t scored a point until that point, launched up a high, arching three-pointer that fell through the net to tie the score 45-45 with 1:02 left in regulation.
“I’ve told all my kids that they gotta be ready to step up and Justin did,” coach Joey Trujillo said. “He made a big shot for us.”
Last season, St. Michaels defeated Pojoaque three times in district play, but the Elks came away with the Class AAA state championship.
Pojoaque beat West Las Vegas, another District 2AAA rival, 54-49 last season to win the championship.