Farmington boys, Gallup girls win district titles

FRUITLAND

In their final game of the regular season, the Farmington Scorpions and Gallup Lady Bengals solidified their No. 1 spots in New Mexico District 1-5A.

The Scorps went undefeated in district and defeated the Bengals in the boys’ district finals, 54-50. The Lady Bengals who went undefeated all season and defeated Farmington High, 70-64, for the district title last Friday.

Farmington boy’s coach Paul Corley said it was a close game that came down to points drawn from the free-throw line.

“We really just made some crucial free throws by Diego Corley at the end,” he said. “It was just back and forth the whole game.”

Gallup led most of the game and even halfway through the final quarter before turnovers and fouls got the best of them.

Corley said it came down to the wire for the two teams, which was something he expected.

He added that teams in the district, especially Gallup, have been giving their best in an effort to take a game away from them.

“We’ve taken everybody’s best shots, especially in the district,” Corley said. “The kids have handled it very well.”

For Gallup coach Richard Rangel, Jr., few things were a miss. He said his team played well but some early shortfalls costed them in the end.

“It came down to a couple of turnovers and a couple of missed shots for us,” he said. “We just got to overcome. Early in the game we missed some easy buckets.”

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