MV Cougars set to start region play after Striking Eagle title

ALBUQUERQUE

After going toe-to-toe with Alamo Navajo everything seemed to go right for the Monument Valley Cougar boys’ basketball team.

MV was clinging to a 42-39 advantage heading into the fourth but the Utah 1A school finished it off in style to claim the Bear Bracket at the 2021 Striking Eagle Native American Invitational with 57-45 win.

“They just put in one hundred ten percent,” MV coach Merrill Smith said of his team’s finish.

Smith said winning the tournament was much needed as the Cougars are set to start region play on Saturday, hosting archrival Whitehorse.

“It meant a lot,” Smith said. “This is like an eyeopener for us, especially coming back from COVID. I really didn’t know what to expect out of our players.”

In the fourth, MV led by as much as 14, getting nine points from junior Keshawn Atene and four from Doreon Chee.

Defensively, they held Alamo Navajo to 2-for-12 shooting.

“Honestly, we did really good,” said Atene, who finished with 11 points. “This was a good experience for us because we worked on our plays. We also got our second-string player in so that they can get used to it.”

And while Atene kept MV afloat in the fourth stanza it was Chee who led all scorers as he finished with 24 points, which included five treys.

Seth Sheppard added 11 as the senior was tabbed the MVP. Chee and sophomore Kandall Phillips (six points) made the all-tournament team.

First-year Alamo Navajo coach Lemuel Guerro said his team gave everything they could, but it struggled to make shots, especially in the last quarter when the team were held to six points.

“My guys never gave up, they played all the way through,” Guerro said. “They hustled and I’m so proud of them because we’ve come a long way.

“We still have more games to come, so there’s more room for improvements,” he said. “I’m just happy that we got to play in the championship game.”

Heavy hearts

This was Alamo Navajo’s fourth consecutive SENAI championship game, a tradition started by former coach Marcus Pino Sr., who passed away in April 2020 because of COVID-19 complications.

“They still think about coach Pino,” Guerro said.

Guerro said most of his current players played under the late coach and they’re still playing with heavy hearts.

Even more so for Tayshaun Pino, the late coach’s son.

“It’s been really hard but, you know, we just keep pushing, keep moving forward,” the younger Pino said. “Every time we step on the court, we just try to play hard for my dad and try to get better.”

Pino, who was named to the all-tournament team, said his team struggled to get anything going in that final quarter.

“We kind of got lackadaisical,” he said. “We struggled with our shots, and we struggled with a lot of turnovers.”

Striking distance

Behind three early treys from sophomore JayAthins Apachito (14 points), the Alamo Navajo Cougars stayed within striking distance, trailing 15-14 after one quarter of play.

An old-fashion three-point play from junior Mike Monte gave Alamo Navajo a slight 22-20 cushion with 5:16 left in the second.

Monument Valley, however, closed out the opening half on an 11-5 run for a 31-27 cushion.

Midway through the third Alamo Navajo grabbed its last lead at 37-36 on two-point shot from Isaiah Secatero. After that, the Guerro-coached team could not buy a basket.

“I thought we played well but we just couldn’t make a shot,” Guerro said.

At 5-7 overall, the Alamo Navajo coach said he’s looking forward to the rest of the season.

“I’m excited about what these boys can do,” he said. “We have a tough district, so we have to work harder.”

Alamo Navajo competes in District 3-1A, and they have Carrizozo, Corona, Hondo Valley, Magdalena, Mountainair and Vaughn in their district.

Monument Valley, meanwhile, has five teams in its conference, which includes Green River, Monticello, Pinnacle and Whitehorse as those team compete in Utah’s Region 23.

Smith said he’s hoping his squad will make some noise in region play and get a high seed in the Utah 1A state bracket.

“I hope we’re up there but then again there’s a lot of tough teams,” he said.

Smith pegs Monticello as the team to beat in their region.

“They’ve been bouncing from 2A back to 1A,” he said.

“Whitehorse is going to be another tough one in our region,” he added.

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