Bulldogs overcome barrage of threes against Page

WINSLOW

A pesky Page Sand Devil squad gave the Winslow Bulldogs a stern test on Tuesday night.

Winslow, which added two transfers to their talented lineup, survived a barrage of threes to post a hard-earned 64-58 win inside Don Petranovich Gym.

The Bulldogs led by as much as 10 points midway through the third quarter but the Sand Devils connected on four treys for a 56-54 edge with five minutes left in the contest.

“We had to make some adjustments,” first-year Winslow coach Venton Nelson said. “We kind of lost it and we kind of relaxed but I thought we finished strong. We hit some big shots and we made some defensive stops and we got some rebounds.

“I’m satisfied with tonight’s effort,” he added. “The boys have been wanting this game for a long time because we’ve been playing against each other for two months and that gets boring.”

After surrendering 40-30 advantage to the Bulldogs, Page methodically chipped away at that deficit with senior guards Robert Smith and Dahntay Dugi hitting back-to-back treys.

Winslow junior Chris Arellano converted an old-fashion three-point play at the 2:40 mark but Page used a quarter ending 10-0 run to tie the contest at 47-all. Senior forward Jonah Holiday fueled that run with a pair of three-point plays.

The Sand Devils kept the momentum going with point guard Orlandon Yazzie nailing a rare four-point play for a 51-49 cushion in the early going of the fourth.

The lead exchanged two times with Page taking its last lead at the 5:11 mark from Dugi as Winslow closed out the game on a 10-2 run.

“We just lost focus as a team in that little time frame,” Winslow senior Terrell Young said. “In those moments we have to be zoned in and be at 100 percent. We can’t waste our possessions because every possession counts.”

Arellano concurred, while adding that they lost their defensive assignments, which allowed Page to score at will.

“We weren’t covering the outsides like we’re supposed to,” the Winslow junior said. “We weren’t hustling back on defense and that’s how they got back into the game.”

Young’s 13 points paced Winslow while Arellano pitched in 11, including nine in the third stanza.

The Winslow coach said Arellano provided a much-needed spark during Page’s onslaught of threes.

“We came out a little flat but Chris picked us up,” Nelson said. “He hit two threes and that really hyped up the team. It gave us a boost of energy.”

The Bulldogs also had senior Zane Corum finish in double figures as he had 10. Senior Jeremiah Byjoe netted nine while seniors Roy Billups and Dustin Richard added six points apiece.

“We have a lot of good parts to this team,” Nelson said, while noting that Young, Richard and Billups are the nucleus of this team.

“They been with the varsity program for two-plus years,” he said of the trio. “They work really hard and they play with confidence.”

As for the rest of the team, Nelson said he’s blessed to coach a talented team, which includes former Window Rock player Cauy Silversmith and Tuba City transfer Jeremiah Byjoe.

“Anybody on this team can dribble, penetrate and shoot the threes,” he said. “They just have the desire and heart to be out there. They all play with a lot of enthusiasm.”

For Tuba City, Dugi finished with a game-high 17 points and four treys.

As a team, Page connected on eight treys with Yazzie contributing with a pair as the sophomore finished with 16 points.

Page also had two other players in double figures with senior post Stuart Sandall scoring 11 and Holiday chipping in 10.

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