Boys roundup: Alamo Navajo wins first district crown

By Santiago Ramos Jr.
Special to the Times

GRANTS, N.M.

Alamo Navajo made school history by capturing its first ever boys district basketball title.

Alamo Navajo, which swept the regular season district title with a perfect 8-0 record and the district tournament title, routed Mountainair 73-26 during the District 3-1A finals Friday.

Alamo Navajo (23-4) earned the No. 11 seed and will play at No. 6 Dora (20-6) Saturday in the Class 1A Sweet 16 round at 5:30 p.m.

“My boys were hungry for that win against Mountainair,” Alamo Navajo head coach Lemuel Guerro said. “This was the first ever district championship title for the boys in the history of our school. My boys got on the court and executed our game plan. Being a part of school history is so awesome. No words can ever fully describe the excitement. To have a team whose hearts are all set on the same goal is every coach’s dream. They work diligently and are always grinding. I’m proud of each of them. Nothing was handed to them this season. They earned every single win.”

Alamo Navajo had three players on the all-district team with senior forward Mathias Apachito, junior forward Jay Apachito and junior point guard Jacob Apache, who was named District Player of the Year.

Guerro said he’s expecting a tough game against Dora.

“We definitely have to prepare for a physical game,” Guerro said. “Our boys have never made it past the first round of state. We’re working hard to make even more school history. Keeping my team focused and getting prepared is our only priority right now.”

Pine Hill

Pine Hill (14-13) got the No. 15 seed and will travel to No. 2 Fort Sumner/House (25-2) Saturday for the Class 1A Sweet 16 round at 5 p.m.

The Warriors, the district No. 1 seed, lost to To’hajiilee 58-48 Friday during the District 1-1A tournament finals.

“It was a tough game and a tough loss in the district tournament,” Pine Hill head coach Duane Henry said.

Pine Hill had swept To’hajiilee twice during the regular season by scores of 59-45 and 55-53.

The Pine Hill Warriors were led by junior Ezekiel Martinez who tallied 17 points in a losing effort.

To’hajiilee had three players in double figures with freshman Khyran Guerro with a game-high 22 points, junior Jacob Belone 15 and sophomore JayTee Nelson 10.

Pine Hill received the No. 15 seed and will travel to No. 2 seed Fort Sumner/House Saturday. Game time is 5 p.m.

Henry said he’s excited about advancing to the state tournament.

“Going to the state tournament as the No. 15 seed is awesome,” Henry said. “I’m very proud of what we accomplished as a team. I’m very proud and honored that our Pine Hill basketball program and community gets to participate in the Big Dance. We set our goal and our Pine Hill Warriors accomplished that. Being the No. 15 seed is gonna be tough, especially now that we have to play a tough opponent, No. 2 Fort Sumner/House. They’re an excellent team and it’s gonna be a very challenging and great experience for us but I think we’ll do a great job.”

To’hajiilee

To’hajiilee (12-9) received the No. 16 seed, the final spot in the Class 1A boys state tournament and will make the tough journey to top seed and unbeaten Magdalena (28-0) Saturday. Game time is 5 p.m.

To’hajiilee head coach Jonathan Johnson said he made adjustments after losing to Pine Hill twice during the regular season.

“After losing to Pine Hill a second time, we went back to the drawing board to correct areas we needed to correct,” Johnson said. “We worked hard at every practice leading up to the district championship game. We had one goal in mind and that was to play hard and to beat Pine Hill. From the beginning of the season we made it our goal to become district champs.”

To’hajiilee gained revenge for those two losses to Pine Hill with a convincing 58-48 win Friday night on the road.

Johnson said his team is ready for Magdalena.

“The To’hajiilee Warriors are up for the challenge against the Magdalena Steers,” he said.

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