Diné team breaks out at NABI in triple-overtime win

Posted by Quentin Jodie | Jul 20, 2017 | Basketball |

Navajo Times | Adron Gardner
Assist Outbreak Nachae Nez (23) attempts a field goal under pressure against the Lower Sioux basketball team during the 15th annual Native American Basketball Invitational tournament at Maricopa High School July 14.

MARICOPA, Ariz.

Sterling Spencer liked the effort he saw.

The Assist Outbreak boys’ basketball coach had nothing but high praise for his team after watching them give every ounce of energy they had despite showing some mental and physical fatigue.

His team reached the Final Four round in the gold bracket at the 15th annual Native American Basketball Invitational last Friday at Maricopa High School.

“I just have nothing but positive things to say about this team,” he said. “We were the last remaining team (in the gold bracket) from the rez to make it this far.”
Nothing came easy for his group of all-stars as Assist Outbreak won its first two games in bracket play by a combined seven points.

But in the quarterfinals, they showed their true grit by making an astonishing comeback, posting a 69-64 triple-overtime win over STOF, a Florida-based squad made up of Seminoles and Miccosukee Indians.

“We wanted to give each other easier shots,” said Spencer, who added that they trailed by as much as 17 points at the start of the second half. “We wanted more ball movement inside, then kick it out. We were driving and kicking it to the low blocks to get easy layups. That is how we got back into the game.”

In the next round, the fatigue factor came into play as they trailed Lower Sioux, a Minnesota-based team, by eight points late in the second half. But with one final push, Assist Outbreak chipped away at that lead and knotted the game at 50-all with 25.1 seconds remaining on three free throws by former Winslow High standout Rory Billie.

“I had missed some crucial free throws to win it earlier and that was in the back of my mind when I stepped up to the line,” Billie said. “I just had to remember to bend my knees and that is what everyone was telling me.”

But after they forced overtime, it didn’t take took long for LS to get some separation as they closed out the extra session by going on a 9-0 run to score a 63-54 OT victory.

“It came down to that three-overtime game,” Spencer said. “It was an hour-45-minute game. It wore on us physically and mentally and I knew it was going to affect us.”

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