Defensive Battle Between Two Tough Teams
Unable to penetrate St. Michael’s defense, the Elks went to the 3-point shot 18 times and converted just three, while the patient Horsemen pounded it inside and came away with a 39-29 District 5AAA win Tuesday night in Ben Lujan Gymnasium.
Matt Barela scored nine of St. Michael’s first half 21 points witrh acrobatic moves in the paint. The Horsemen (18-5, 4-2) didn’t attempt a 3 in the first half and they held a 21-14 lead at the break.
The second quarter began with the Elks turning the ball over on their first four possessions. The Horsemen took advantage of the turnovers to score six points on their first three possession to take a 15-4 lead that left Pojoaque (9-16, 2-4) battling from behind for the rest of the game.
It was déjà vu in the third as the Elks turned it over on their first two possessions and St. Michael’s capitalized with four points on their first two possessions.
Both teams played outstanding defense. Nothing came easy. With 1:39 left in the third quarter, Pojoaque narrowed the lead to 25-19 on a Josh Valdez free throw. Daniel Ortega shot the Horsemen’s first three with 15 seconds in the quarter and it rattled in to put his team up 30-19 going into the final quarter.
Pojoaque went 1-for-7 from beyond the arc in the final quarter and despite denying the Horsemen a 2-point field goal they were unable to cut into the lead.
Derrick Velasquez, junior point guard, came off the bench to pace Pojoaque with 7 points; all scored in the second half.
Matt Barela and Antonio Garcia shared game high honors for St. Michael’s with 12 points each.
Pojoaque hosts Hope Christian Friday night at 7 p.m.
