All looked lost for the Pojoaque Elks.
The team trailed by five points in overtime, and two starters had already fouled out. A third, their leading scorer and the eventual tournament most valuable player, would soon join them on the bench.
But the Elks found their final burst — after three intense games (including three overtime periods) in three days — and came back for the win.
Pojoaque (9-2) came away victorious at the Ben Lujan Tournament at their home, with a 66-64 overtime win over Portales (5-4) in the final.
Tobias Velasquez was the hero twice for Pojoaque. His 3-pointer with 13 seconds left in regulation gave Pojoaque the lead, and ultimately led to overtime. And in overtime, with 10 seconds left, he hit a game-winner on a drive to the basket.
“I saw the lane kind of open up, and they collapsed on me,” Velasquez said. “But I just figured, I have to shoot the ball with not a lot of time left.”
Pojoaque coach Jason Mossman has been preaching mental toughness all season, and a fight to win close games. They showed that at their tournament, winning three games all of which came down to the very end.
“We don’t fold, as long as there’s time on the clock, we have a chance,” Mossman said. “A year ago, we might have folded.”
Portales led early, but Pojoaque used a 7-0 run to tie the game in the first quarter, and they led 29-25 at halftime. They stretched the lead to 11 with a big third quarter, but Portales used a long scoreless drought for Pojoaque to come back and take a lead by four points in the fourth quarter.
Mossman said that his decision to go to the bench with the Elks winning by double digits “almost backfired.”
Derek Sanchez tied the game at 53 with 50 seconds left, and they led by two after Velazque’s three pointer. But with five seconds left, Pojoaque committed a foul and Portales hit two free throws to tie the game and send the championship to overtime.
Mario Baros and Jeremy Quintana had fouled out in regulation, and Sanchez — the tournament MVP — fouled out early in overtime. But after falling down by five early in overtime, Pojoaque used an 8-2 run to take the lead, and with the game tied, Velasquez hit his game winner.
Velasquez finished the game with 19 points, including five made 3-point shots. Mossman said he moved Velasquez off of playing point guard to open up his scoring potential.
“They had been leaving me open all night,” Velasquez said. “My shooting clicked on for this tournament. I’m just glad we were able to pull it out when it mattered.”
In the semifinal, Santa Fe Indian (5-3) used a slow pace throughout the game, but Pojoaque scored 10 straight points after falling behind 6-0. They found themselves tied at 36 points, but after an offensive foul on the Braves, Sanchez drew a foul to head to the free-throw line with 1.4 seconds remaining. Sanchez hit both free throws to finish the game with 22 points, and avoid overtime with a 38-36 win.
In the first round, Pojoaque had a double-overtime thriller with Monte Del Sol (3-5). Sanchez finished with 43 points after just six in the first half, including all 11 of Pojoaque’s in the second overtime period, as they won 11-2 in those four minutes. DJ Jaramillo was a key contributor with 16 rebounds.
“It really proves ourselves to the state, that we’re not something to mess with,” Velasquez said of the tournament championship.
Pojoaque gets a rest after their tournament for a few weeks, and will rematch at Portales in the first round of the Portales Shootout on Jan. 5.