The comeback took time, including few extra minutes of overtime, but the Trojans overcame a 14 point halftime deficit to defeat rival Otero 87-82 in La Junta on Tuesday.
TSJC got off to an extremely cold start as Otero had the hot hand. The Trojans rallied with Kevin Daugherty tying it up at 78-78 on a driving lay-up with less than ten seconds to play.
Donell Wells took over in the extra stanza scoring eight of his team leading 23 points to lead the Trojans to the Region IX victory.
Joining Wells with double digits in the scoring column was Daugherty with 21 points, Alan Salazar added 11 points to go with his 11 rebounds and Dolan West finished with 10 points.
"We have been in about eight close games this season and have come up short in 7 of them,” commented Coach Rich Holden. “It was great to see our guys respond and get the win in a close game. The fact that we came back from a 14 point deficit indicates to me that we have the right stuff going at this late date in the season. Our goal now is to try and build on this outstanding win and gain some momentum going into the tournament."
The 12-16 Trojans wrapped up South Sub-Region play in third place and will have two non-conference games before the Region IX Tournament begins. TSJC will host Laramie County, for the Trojans final home game of the year, this Friday at 7 p.m. They will then play Air Force JV on February 26 in Colorado Springs before heading to the tournament in March.