Pintos hold off Laguna Acoma in Overtime

MORIARTY — It was a game of wild momentum swings, but the Moriarty Pintos found a way to survive a “dogfight” against Laguna Acoma, securing a 61-58 overtime victory just days after a tough Saturday loss.

After ending regulation tied at 57-57, it took a clutch three-pointer from Dominic Brown and a critical free throw from Mateo Griego-Manley to finally seal the win in the extra period.

“We saw a lot of bright spots again,” head coach Caleb Encinias said. “Got off to a hot start… and then I feel like we hit a little low there midway through the first half.”

The scorebook tells the story of the rollercoaster evening. Moriarty roared out of the gates to lead 21-9 after the first quarter, only to see that lead evaporate by halftime, clinging to a narrow 31-30 advantage. The Pintos surged again in the third to go up 50-44, but Laguna Acoma battled back to force overtime.

“I think when we got the lead, we were thinking about keeping the lead rather than stretching the lead,” Encinias noted. “We stopped doing the things that did to get us that lead… It’s expected early in the year with a young team.”

The Pintos were bolstered by the return of Sam Pearce, who had been missing from the lineup in the previous game. Pearce finished with 12 points and his presence was felt late in the game. However, early foul trouble for Devin Ortiz forced Encinias to test his bench depth.

That challenge turned into a bright spot, as Scott Batie came off the bench to provide a critical spark when the team needed it most.

“With that foul trouble came the biggest spark,” Encinias said. “One thing that we talked about is you never know when your number is going to get called… Scott stepped up big time tonight for us.”

Brown led the Pintos with 13 points, including the decisive deep ball in overtime. Griego-Manley added 10 points, while Mario Romero chipped in 8.

Despite the win, Encinias emphasized that conditioning is playing a major factor. He noted the team was “gassing out” as the game wore on, a sentiment reflected in the fourth-quarter comeback by Laguna.

“It’s playing a big deal for me,” Encinias said regarding conditioning. “Now that they know what it feels like, I expect them to show up ready to work.”

Moving forward, the Pintos will look to clean up “live ball turnovers” and improve ball movement. But for Encinias, the ability to bounce back without a practice session in between games spoke volumes.

“To be able to bounce back after a tough loss on Saturday without practice, that says a lot.”

Moriarty Scoring: Dominic Brown 13, Sam Pearce 12, Mateo Griego-Manley 10, Mario Romero 8, Devin Ortiz 6, Scott Batie 5, Jayden Carlson 3, Abe Sloan 3, Jadah Sloan 2.