Trojans surge back against Peñasco
Peñasco knocked down a field goal right before the buzzer blew in the fourth quarter against Mesa Vista on Saturday (Jan. 28). It was a two-point field goal when the Panthers needed a three to tie it up and send it to overtime — Mesa Vista walked away with the 54-53 win, using a second-half surge to overcome their first-half deficit.
Down by six with under a minute to go, Jeremiah Martinez hit an off-the-dribble deep 3-pointer to make it a one-possession game. Demarcus Lopez, having already hit a clutch 3-pointer this season to tie in the final seconds of a game against the Santa Rosa Lions last December, squared up and shot over the outstretched hands of Trojan Jordan Cervantes. The shot had the right trajectory as it was inline and heading toward the inside of the rim, but it caught too much rim and bounced out. The Trojans gave
Peñasco another chance when they committed a free throw violation to hand the ball right back to the Panthers.
In the first half, the Panthers played a solid game on both ends and enjoyed a doubledigit lead heading into halftime. Peñasco knocked down their shots between Elias Archibeque, Donnivan Aguilar and Martinez. Archibeque even had a 4-point play in the first half.
Mesa Vista made adjustments in the second half and stormed back to take the lead and then hold onto that lead throughout the fourth quarter.
“I think we just attacked more. The pace. Credit to them. They played a great game. They had a great game plan. They came in there, they slowed the game up and they got good shots. Coach Pacheco had his kids ready to play,” said Trojans coach Thomas Vigil.
Vigil wasn’t entirely satisfied
with the Trojans’ second-half performance.
“I felt like we were way too passive in the second half. We were able to attack a little bit and, you know, it was just a hard fought game,” he said. “This is a district game, you know what I mean? That’s the way it’s gonna be. Every single game in this district is tough….We did just enough to win on the road. It’s tough. This team [Peñasco] is under the radar. They play hard.”