Navajo Prep boys still working out the kinks Eagles open the season
with 63-54 win over Miyamura

FARMINGTON

It’s still a work in progress for the Navajo Prep boys basketball team.

The Eagles opened the season on Tuesday night with 4A Miyamura, as the defending 3A state champs picked up a 63-54 win.

“I’m proud of the fact that we didn’t ever let their shooters get going because that’s what they do,” first-year Navajo Prep coach Mark Teel said of Miyamura. “They shoot the ball pretty well. Coming from Gallup, I’m real familiar with what they do and who does what, so we were kind of prepared for that.

“We did a good job of stopping what they do best,” he added.

Teel previously coached at Gallup High for five seasons, serving as an assistant to then-coach Joshua Dunlap before he took over the reins last year. Before that Teel coached in Hobbs and Lovington in southern New Mexico.

Over the summer, Teel took the Navajo Prep job. Needless to say, his players are still getting used to his system.

“I picked up a lot of stuff over the years, and I’m excited with what we can do as a program,” Teel said. “The ceiling is the limit with them once they understand the stuff, I’m teaching them.

“It’s like learning a new language and they’re trying to learn my language,” he added. “They’re still trying to understand what to do, and then do it without thinking about it to where it’s a reaction and not a thought.”

Navajo Prep came out of the gate by hitting its first three shots for an 8-0 cushion. Miyamura chipped away at that deficit and tied the contest at 10-all following two free throws from senior post Brody Tah.

The Eagles, however, exploited its backdoor drives and led 22-14 heading into the second stanza with sophomore Breyden Benally leading the home team with six early points.

“We came into this game wanting to play up-tempo,” Miyamura coach John Zecca said. “Part of that is pressing, but we weren’t doing a good job of it. We were getting a little lost in our half-court and that is when they were getting those back door cuts on us.

“But we adjusted, and we went straight to man, and I thought we did a decent job on that,” he added.

In the second, Navajo Prep found its rhythm and led 33-18 after Aden Clah hit back-to-back baskets midway through the quarter.

But a series of turnovers opened the door for Miyamura as the Patriots nailed 5-of-8 free throws and trailed 35-22 at the break.

In the second half, the Eagles pushed its lead to as much as 17 midway through the fourth before Miyamura made one final push behind senior guard Shane Platero’s nine fourth-quarter points.

“We just couldn’t overcome that early cushion they had,” Zecca said. “We just didn’t make enough shots either. We had some looks; they just weren’t falling.”

The Patriots were led by Tah, who scored all of his 11 points in the opening half. Miyamura also received 10 from senior Jacob Wyaco.

“Down low, we did OK,” Zecca said. “I thought Brody was a force down there. But they were doing a good job of doubling on him, and he was fighting through it most of the time.

“But he has to learn when to find the open man when he does get doubled,” the second-year Miyamura coach said.

For Navajo Prep, the Eagles had 11 of 12 players score with Clah leading the way with 13 points while senior Xavier Nez added 10.

“We came into this game with some rust, but we got the job done,” Nez said. “I feel like we came into the game with a pretty good mindset, but we got some things to work on.

“We have to focus on running our set plays, instead of free-styling,” he added. “I think we did a lot of freestyling tonight. I have to take the blame for some of that because I kind of had a poor game. I know I can do a lot better to help my team out.”

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