Crucial mistakes, free throws give Gallup 4th district title

GALLUP

For the past four seasons the Gallup Bengals have been a household name when it comes to district championships.

On Feb. 19, the Bengals wrapped up the regular season with a 9-1 mark in District 1-4A play, which earned the Gallup boys’ four consecutive district titles.

On Saturday night, the Bengals added a district tournament crown to its cache with a 62-56 win over the second seeded Miyamura Patriots.

Gallup coach Joshua Dunlap said this year’s title was the most taxing, as the Bengals were shorthanded for a good part of this season.

“Probably the hardest one, I think, out of all of them,” Dunlap said of the four league crowns. “We hit so much adversity this year with injuries and COVID. For these guys to bounce back like that – that’s awesome for them. I’m really proud of them.”

Junior Nathaniel Yazzie and senior Khohanon Atazhoon led Gallup with 17 and 16 points, respectively, while freshman Kristian Touchine added nine.

“It means a lot,” said Atazhoon, who was tabbed the district’s MVP.

“We worked really hard for it and this is an all-around great feeling,” he said before shifting the focus to the upcoming 4A state tournament.

“It’s really nothing,” he said of the four-peat. “We’re trying for something higher at state.”

With a 16-12 overall record, the Bengals earned the No. 10 seed and they will travel to No. 7 Belen on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.

“I can’t wait,” Dunlap said of the playoffs. “It’s a little harder to get to the Pit this year, but that’s always the goal.

“If we can get to the Pit, sell it out, I think we got good chances against anybody,” he said.

The Patriots also made the playoffs as the No. 16 seed as they will take on No. 1 Albuquerque Highland at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

“Anything can happen,” Miyamura coach Reyes Hernandez said. “It’s not even about the numbers anymore … the ball can bounce any way.”

In Saturday’s district title game, the Patriots battled back from a 29-22 halftime deficit and took the lead three separate times in the second half, two in the third stanza.

A 3-pointer by senior Antonio Lovato with 2:44 left in the third gave Miyamura a 37-36 advantage.

Gallup retook the lead on the very next possession on a basket from Yazzie, but at the 1:26 mark Miyamura’s Mathias Rodriquez gave the Patriots a 40-39 edge.

The Bengals, however, closed out the quarter on a 4-0 run. Incidentally, Yazzie scored all of those points as he tallied nine straight for Gallup.

After two free throws from Rodriquez, the Patriots gained a 45-43 cushion behind a 3-point shot from junior Dionte Gilbert with 6:26 left.

The Bengals tied the game with Yazzie’s 11th consecutive point and they went up 48-45 with a trey from Atazhoon.

Miyamura got an old-fashion 3-point play from senior Jeremiah Parades to tie the game for the final time at 48-48 with 5:30 left.

For the next three minutes, the Bengals opened up a 58-50 cushion, as that was enough to hold off Miyamura down the stretch.

“In that last huddle when we had three timeouts and they had zero we wanted to crank it up right there,” Dunlap said. “I know they were down to their best shooter, so we were a little bit more aggressive towards the ball at the end.”

Hernandez said the contest played out like a “dogfight” with the Bengals converting on their mistakes late in the contest.

“Everyone was hitting big shots,” he said. “It just came down to a couple of crucial mistakes with turnovers and missed free throws, and execution.

“That is what it came down to,” he said, “and Gallup High did that down the stretch and we just fell a little short and we ran out of time.”

For the season, the Gallup split the series with the Patriots at 2-2 with the Bengals winning the last two.

“They’re definitely improved,” Dunlap said of Miyamura. “(Coach) Reyes put a good game plan together. We were really worried about that 1-1-3 that he runs. It’s like a 2-3 hybrid kind of thing.

“We had to spend a lot of time on that, and I don’t think we looked great at it,” he added. “And that’s a credit to him. That’s a tough defense to get around.”

Offensively, Rodriquez, who finished with a game-high 19 points, led the Patriots.

“What can you say about that kid?” the Gallup coach said. “I don’t know if our kids don’t like guarding him or what. That dude gets it done and I have a lot of respect for that guy.”

Hernandez said Rodriquez has been a role model for all the kids in the Miyamura program.

“A lot of the kids look up to him,” he said. “He doesn’t say much but you know, he gets the team going. We go as he goes, so he’s been tremendous all four years of dedication, hard work and heart from him. I appreciate everything he’s done for this program.”

And although they came up short, the Miyamura coach said finishing second to Gallup in the district is still an accomplishment.

“Next year it’s going to make the kids even hungrier,” he said.

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