Gallup Invitational: Bengals survive furious rally from Tohatchi, advance to title game with 63-60 win

GALLUP

Gallup boys basketball coach Ryan Becenti knows that the game is not over until the clock reads all zeros.

Even when his club is up by a dozen points. Becenti and a packed house at Gallup High witness an amazing comeback from the Tohatchi Cougars as the Bengals advanced into tonight’s championship game of the 82nd Annual Gallup Bengal Boys Basketball Invitational with a hard-fought 63-60 win.

Gallup will play Cortez High in the title game at 6:30 p.m. as the Panthers rolled to a 67-39 win over Piedra Vista in the top half of the bracket.

“I’m not gonna lie, I got a little worried there,” said Becenti, whose team improved to 9-5 overall. “You know we tend to get a little too relaxed. Our kids feel like a 12-point lead is like a 25-point lead and I don’t know what that’s about.

“We got to fix that, but give Tohatchi a lot of credit,” he added. “That’s a good team, and that’s a well-coached team who have been in situations like that, so give their kids credit. They hit some big shots under a great atmosphere tonight.”

Becenti said the atmosphere on Friday night is what the past Bengals are used to, where it gets so loud that players are unable to hear each other on the court.

“That’s like a playoff environment,” he said. “In those type of environments, you got to keep poise, and you got to stay within yourself. You got trust each other and trust your system.”

With just under four minutes left, Gallup appeared to have the game in the bag with a 58-46 advantage after an old-fashion 3-point play from senior guard Jayson Bruner with 3:55 left.

That is when a handful of fans started to head for the exits, but Tohatchi came roaring back despite losing senior post Myka Candeleria and senior guard Darium Peshlakai.

Candeleria picked up his fifth foul at the 5:35 mark with Gallup clinging to a 46-44 cushion while Peshlakai did not return after he appeared to roll his ankle in the early going of the game.

In a two-minute span, the Cougar scored 10 straight that was buoyed by a pair of 3s from senior Deandre Rios and sophomore Myles Candeleria. Rios capped that surge with a pair of free throws that got Tohatchi within 58-56 with 1:35 remaining.

“I have to give it to my guys,” Tohatchi coach Kendall Livingston said. “They worked their tails off, and they never gave up even when Myka fouled out. You know we had other guys step up. We just told the guys to give it all you got and don’t hold back. If you make a mistake, don’t worry about it.”

After Rios’ two free throws, the Bengals moved ahead by two possessions on a transition layup from junior Desean Six for a 60-56 lead with 1:27 left. But Rios cut that lead in half with a pair from the charity line at the 1:03 mark.

Tohatchi then put Bengal forward Jeremias Cleveland on the line, and he made 1-of-2 for a 61-58 advantage. With 32.8 seconds left, Rios had a chance to tie the contest when he drew a foul from the 3-point line. He connected on his first one, but his second attempt rimmed out. He then made his third free throw that got Tohatchi within 61-60.

A walk by Gallup at the other end gave Tohatchi another opportunity and the Cougars were looking to get the go-ahead score on inbounds play, but the Bengals produced a key steal with Six scoring a transition layup for the game’s final score.

“We had a chance but that last play, things just worked out differently,” Livingston said. “If we got that inbounds play, I think it would have been a different ballgame. It just wasn’t our time tonight. We fell short, and we have to regroup and get back at it again tomorrow.”Tohatchi plays Piedra Vista for the third-place game at 5 p.m.

The Cougars were paced by Rios who had a game-best 26 points, which included four treys. Myka Candeleria added 15 and his younger brother Myles chipped in nine.

For Gallup, Bruner finished with 23 points which included three treys. Senior Joshua Keeto chipped in 15 while junior Desean Six added eight.

Get instant access to this story by purchasing one of our many e-edition subscriptions HERE at our Navajo Times Store.

---