Melrose ends Alamo Navajo’s title run

BERNALILLO, N.M.

Alamo Navajo ran into a Melrose team March 11, that was faster, sharper early and relentless from the opening tip.

The fourth-seeded Buffaloes built a commanding first-quarter lead and never let the fifth-seeded Cougars back into the game, beating Alamo Navajo 68-45 in the Class A state tournament at Bernalillo High School.

Melrose opened with a 22-8 first quarter, pushed its lead to 37-21 by halftime and stayed in control the rest of the way. Alamo Navajo made its best push in the third quarter, scoring 16 points, but Melrose answered with an 18-8 fourth quarter to close it out. The Buffaloes led for 31 minutes, never trailed after the game’s only tie and built their largest lead at 23 points.

After the loss, Alamo Navajo head coach Lemuel Guerro said his team knew it could not afford to fall behind against a program like Melrose.

“It’s a reason they’re number 4 in the state single A,” Guerro said. “Yeah, they’re a good team. They’re aggressive, they run, they hustle. And we’re trying to adjust to their aggressive and trying to adjust to their speed as well.”

That adjustment never fully came for the Cougars, who struggled to recover after Melrose’s opening burst. Alamo Navajo shot 14 of 56 from the floor for 25%, while Melrose finished 24 of 51 for 47.1%. The Cougars hit 6 of 17 from 3-point range, but they could not find enough consistent offense inside the arc to erase the deficit.

Melrose also turned defense into offense.

The Buffaloes scored 24 points off turnovers, compared with 11 for Alamo Navajo, and owned a 30-16 edge in points in the paint. Alamo Navajo committed 17 turnovers, and Melrose made the Cougars pay for them.

Jaxon Odom led Melrose with a game-high 28 points and added four rebounds, four assists and one steal. Spencer Eldridge had 11 points, while Angel Lopez added seven. Max Sena and Aiden Aucutt each scored six, and Carson Jones chipped in five off the bench as Melrose showed the kind of balanced scoring that usually travels well in March.

For Alamo Navajo, Andy Pino led the Cougars with 17 points and three 3-pointers. Zephyr Apachito added 12 points, including two shots from beyond the arc, and Nahum Apachito finished with nine. Together, the trio accounted for 38 of Alamo Navajo’s 45 points.

Pino, one of the Cougars’ three seniors, also finished with four rebounds, one assist and one steal. Zephyr Apachito added two rebounds, two assists and three turnovers, while Nahum Apachito gave Alamo Navajo five rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block. Cobre Mexicano added six rebounds, and Zephaniah Guerra contributed seven boards and a block.

Despite the final margin, Alamo Navajo stayed active on the glass. Melrose held only a slight 39-37 rebounding edge, while the Cougars had more second-chance points, 9-7. But Melrose’s efficiency and early control proved too much to overcome.

Guerro said part of the challenge was facing a battle-tested Melrose team that looked comfortable in the moment.

“I would say it’s, like we’re not used to this,” Guerro said. “Like we’re away from the city and all that. Melrose is a state contender. So, all the big cities around there, like Clovis is there, Portales is there. They’re used to that and they’re a good team.”

The loss ended another strong postseason run for Alamo Navajo, but Guerro said the Cougars are still building on recent progress. He said this year’s team had three seniors and noted that the program has now reached the quarterfinal round for the second time after previously often exiting in the first round of the 16-team bracket.

“Next year hopefully we’ll have another good season as well,” Guerro said. “This is our second time going through quarterfinals. Usually, we’ll qualify for first round state 16 and then we’re out the first round. So, this is our second time.”

In his fifth year as head coach, Guerro said the current senior class helped change the standard for the program.

“It’s tough. Ever since I took over the program, we did good, we have a winning record,” he said. “And number 33, number 32, and number 23. Those are my seniors. I started coaching them eighth grade and then freshmen. So, four years with them, so they made school history. Our school district champ.”

Those seniors were Zephaniah Guerra, Andy Pino and Scotty Guerrero. Their run helped push Alamo Navajo deeper into the postseason and offered a model for the younger players returning next season.

Guerro made clear the program is not planning to wait long before turning the page.

“Next year starts today,” he said. “With these seniors and the younger ones, it starts tomorrow. I would say that because I know it’s hard building up and all that. So, I’m excited for next year again.”

He also ended on a note of appreciation for the Alamo Navajo crowd that followed the team to Bernalillo.

“I just want to thank the fans. We have an awesome family,” Guerro said. “They’re excited because our school, they’re so supportive. And that’s a good thing.”

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