RIO RANCHO — The Mesa Vista boys basketball team's mascot is the Trojan. But after Wednesday night's game against Rehoboth Christian School, they might consider changing their name to the Spartans.

Like the fabled warriors portrayed in the movie 300 Mesa Vista withstood wave after wave of attacks before finally prevailing 79-68 in a quarterfinal of the Class AA Boys State Basketball Tournament in Santa Ana Star Center.

The sixth-seeded Trojans held a 37-12 halftime lead but saw the third-seeded Lynx steadily cut into the lead until it was just 68-63 with 1:14 left in regulation.

From there, Mesa Vista (18-7) hit 11 of 14 free throws and held Rehoboth to five points in the final minute of the game to secure the upset.

"The defense was very, very intense at the end," said Mesa Vista head coach Thomas Vigil. "We knew we were going to get fouled and that it was going to come down to free throws. The guys did a good job of closing it out."

Rehoboth (23-5) entered with the higher seed and eight seniors, but the Lynx played like nervy newcomers while the Trojans took advantage of a 7-0 first quarter start and Rehoboth's cold 2-for-21 first-half shooting performance.

"To have people think we wouldn't win it and coming in as the underdog motivated us," said junior guard Sean Richardson. "That pumped us up even more. The odds were against us but we came out and did what we had to do."

The Lynx limped through the first half but came out roaring in the second half behind a stifling man-to-man defense and full-court press that seemed to catch Mesa Vista off guard.

Rehoboth finished the third quarter with a 12-4 flourish and started the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run to cut the Trojans' lead to 50-41 with 7:12 left in regulation.

Despite the mounting pressure, Mesa Vista kept finding ways to hold off the Lynx, even after losing starters Erik Garcia and Jerome Campos, who both fouled out early in the fourth quarter.

Richardson said the team just kept talking to keep its focus through Rehoboth's seemingly endless onslaught.

"We were just keeping each other calm, taking it slow down the court, letting the clock run and helping each other out," he said. "Free throws were big, that helped us get the win."

Senior guard Alejandro Lopez scored a game high 33 points, including 11 of 14 from the free-throw line, as he was knocked around by Rehoboth defenders. Sophomore Lorenzo Sanchez scored eight of his 13 points in the fourth quarter — all at the free-throw line.

"All that just gives me motivation to try harder," said Lopez of his rough treatment at the hands of the Lynx.

Coach Vigil was complimentary of this whole team's effort.

"We had some guys step up in some key spots. Chris (Marquez) off the bench gave us big minutes," he said. "He got some key rebounds, knocked down some big free throws."

Vigil and Marquez both said the seeds for Wednesday's tough win were sewn in pre-district play when the Trojans took on four Class AAA state tournament qualifiers as well as top teams in Class AA and AAAA.

"Our early-season schedule was gruesome and there was a point where we were 5-7 and people were up in arms," Vigil said. "(But) we were prepared for the state tournament environment because we played the toughest schedule possible."

Marquez pointed out that the bigger schools also had bigger players, which also helped Mesa Vista prepare.

"Most of the big school teams we played have big guys; they play football. But it just made us stronger," he said. "It helped us being able to handle contact and made us ready for this tournament."

The Trojans advance to today's semifinal against Tucumcari at 6:30 p.m. in the Star Center.