The Mesa Vista Trojans let a 14-point lead slip away in the third quarter Dec. 23 against Peñasco on their way to their third defeat at the Ben Lujan Invitational in Pojoaque.
The Trojans lost to their District 3AA rival 77-73 in overtime to finish in last place at the eight-team tournament.
“We didn’t do what it takes to win,” Mesa Vista coach Thomas Vigil said.
Mesa Vista had lost their first two games at the tournament to larger schools: Class AAAA Grants 57-51 Dec. 21 and Class AAA Socorro 64-43. Vigil was looking forward to playing Peñasco to see how the games against bigger schools were affecting his team.
“When we prepared the schedule we understood that we weren’t going to go 20-0,” Vigil said after the loss to Socorro. “This is a dress rehearsal for district.”
In the first half against the Panthers, it looked like the rehearsals had paid off.
Mesa stormed out to an 18-9 lead in the first quarter and led 37-25 at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Trojans extended their lead to 14 points before they began to unravel. Albert Roybal, who hadn’t scored in the first half, scored six points during an 8-0 run by the Panthers.
Mesa Vista committed six turnovers against a swarming Peñasco defense. The Panthers rattled off nine more unanswered points and trailed 50-47 heading into the fourth quarter.
“The wheels fell off,” Vigil said. “For five minutes we couldn’t get the ball past midcourt.”
Peñasco coach Manuel Romero credited his team’s defense for the victory.
“The intensity level wasn’t there in the first half, and I told them they had to bring it on defense,” Romero said. “The kids responded and did what I asked.”
Roybal also helped lead Peñasco to victory. He led all scorers with 31 points, all of which came after halftime.
Roybal scored the Panthers’ first five points of the final quarter to tie the score 54-54. Later in the quarter, he had six straight points to give the Panthers a 65-61 lead.
With 19.7 seconds left, a free throw gave Peñasco a 67-65 lead. Erik Garcia scored underneath to tie the score with three seconds to send the game into overtime.
A free throw by Panther Mario Romero made the score 75-73 with 14 seconds left in overtime, and Peñasco would never surrender the lead.
Garcia led the Trojans with 14 points, and Ramon Trujillo, who was named to the all-tournament team, had 13 for the Trojans.
Roybal’s 31 points, which all came in the second half and overtime, led all scorers. He was named to the all-tournament team.
“We just didn’t stop him,” Vigil said. “When a guy goes from zero to 31 points in a half, what can you say.”
The Trojans will have a tough game to begin the new year. They host Bosque School Jan. 2 in Ojo Caliente.
The Bobcats are 9-2 on the season.
“You have to do whatever it takes to win,” Vigil said. “We’re not doing it.”