JACONA — Luke Salazar did not start for Pojoaque Valley on Thursday night.

For that matter, neither did Justin Trujillo, Robert Vigil and Brian Montoya.

So, why the spotlight on the four reserves in a 66-50 victory over Santa Fe Indian School in District 2AAA boys basketball in Ben Luján Gymnasium?

Well, for starters, had it not been for Salazar, Trujillo, Vigil and Montoya, there is an excellent chance that the top seed for the District 2AAA Tournament would have been settled and it would not have gone to the Elks.

You see, Pojoaque Valley already is a loss-to-St. Michael's behind the Horsemen. A second setback and the Elks might as well send their archrivals congratulatory text messages, even with three games left in the regular season.

And the Elks were standing at the base of potential Everest comeback in the very first quarter — that's right, the first quarter — when Salazar, Trujillo, Vigil and Montoya checked into the game for the first time against the Braves.

Here's how it looked.

The Braves caught the Elks at 4-4 then added seven more points for 11-4 with 4 minutes, 27 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Enter the reserves.

Exit the advantage.

Salazar scored in the lane and off a putback.

Trujillo stuck a 3-ball from the wing.

Salazar drove the line.

The 9-0 run was stalled by a Darren Pedro layup for Santa Fe Indian School. But Vigil and Christian Gonzales-Baca scored inside to close the quarter.

Pojoaque Valley never trailed for the remaining 24 minutes.

"Ever since we've gone to a nine-, 10- and 11-player rotation, we've played harder defense," said Joey Trujillo, Pojoaque head coach. "It doesn't matter if they're in there for 20 seconds or two minutes, they are in there to play defense."

No one faced fresh feet more than Jordan Naranjo, Santa Fe Indian School's talented point guard. Three Elks took turns on Naranjo, who finished with eight points and four fouls. Naranjo had only two points in the final two quarters.

"I think he got winded," Coach Trujillo said.

Well, something was amiss.

The Braves entered with a three-game winning streak.

"I don't think any coach knows why his boys make a surprise performance like that," said Ernie Rodriguez, Santa Fe Indian School head coach. "We stood around and watched the boys from Pojoaque play tonight. Give them credit; they got after it.

"We didn't give ourselves a chance."

The gap reached double digits, 30-20, on a Vigil steal and layup at the 3:49 mark of the second quarter. The next time the game was that close happened with 3:27 left in the third quarter. Naranjo's layup capped a five-point spurt, but it was still 41-31, Elks.

Michael Perez answered with a 3-pointer, B.J. Roybal followed with four free throws and Salazar's layup pushed the advantage to 50-31.

Salazar finished with 21 points for the Elks (15-8 overall, 7-1 2AAA). Roybal followed with 14 and Justin Trujillo chipped in 11.

Jody Atencio scored 16 of his game-high 25 points in the second half for the Braves (11-11, 3-4).

"We didn't have the right mindset to be successful tonight," Rodriguez said. "But this doesn't dampen my confidence in these boys. I know they can play."

So, too, do the Elks.

Coach Trujillo made a point of telling his team just that.

"Sure, we want another shot at St. Michael's," Trujillo said. "But like I told the team, if we don't take care of Indian School and West Las Vegas, that game won't mean anything."

Pojoaque entertains West Las Vegas on Saturday and Raton on Tuesday before visiting the campus of St. Michael's on Feb. 20.

Luke Salazar can't wait for the next game to start.

Neither can Justin Trujillo, Robert Vigil and Brian Montoya.

Do they expect a starting nod?

Not really.

But they know that once the action begins, it won't be long before they are a part of it.

And while roles are defined, there is ample room to shine.