Navajo Prep, Crownpoint, Rehoboth boys in quarterfinals

By David Smith and Quentin Jodie
Navajo Times

FARMINGTON

The first round of the 2022 New Mexico state boys’ championships began on Saturday.

Two teams from District 1-3A advanced into the quarterfinals with No. 5 Navajo Prep eliminating No. 12 West Las Vegas by a 56-46 count.

Crownpoint, the tourney’s eighth seed, used a late decisive run to get by No. 9 Santa Fe Prep as the Eagles won 42-33.

In the 2A bracket, third-seeded Rehoboth Christian Lynx also advanced as they open their state title defense with a 60-39 win over No. 14 McCurdy.

Navajo Prep

It was a close game at Navajo Prep. Both teams were neck to neck, but the Eagles pulled out the win by a 56-46 score.

Navajo Prep senior Dontrelle Denetso briefly put the Eagles ahead at 12-11. Denetso scored the first bucket and he later added two free throws and two 3-pointers, much to the crowd’s delight.

After Navajo Prep went up 15-12, West Las Vegas player Aldo Hartman hit a shot at the buzzer, ending the first quarter in a 15-all tie.

In the second period, the game was tied again at 18-18 before a 3-pointer from Denetso put the Eagles ahead. But West Las Vegas was a step behind.

Both teams played a hard offense. The Dons had good ball handling while the Eagles stayed ahead with scoring and steals, courtesy of Denetso and Orion King.

The first half ended 30-27 for the Eagles.

In the third quarter, the Dons continued to pursue the Eagles, getting as close as three points, but Navajo Prep pulled away.

In the fourth, the game was the same until the final three minutes when the Eagles built up a 10-point lead.

With the lead, Navajo Prep passed the ball, more intent on keeping it out of the Dons’ possession than scoring.

Denetso led the Eagles with 33 points, while Jude Thomas followed with 25.

For the Dons, Damien Gallegos led the team with 20 followed by Roy Pacheco with 14.

Eagles coach Matt Melvin thought it was a good start in the state tournament and commended the boys’ efforts.

“We did a lot of things we wanted to today,” Melvin said. “I thought we did a good job, It was close at times, but I think for the most part we did a good job of controlling and doing what we wanted to do.

“So overall, I thought it was a pretty good performance,” he said.

Melvin highlighted Denetso’s performance, saying the team had been going to state every year together. He said this was Denetso’s best performance to date, giving the team the lead and boosting the rest of the players.

On Wednesday, Navajo Prep will travel to Santa Fe St. Michael’s with the tipoff scheduled for 6 p.m.

Crownpoint

At Crownpoint, the Eagles outscored the much taller Santa Fe Prep team 14 to 5 in the fourth quarter to advance.

“We just played with a lot of heart,” Crownpoint senior Kordell McMillian said, who finished with nine points. “We wanted to get past the first round and hopefully we can keep going from there.”

Crownpoint coach Thale Goodluck said he was pleased with his team’s performance, especially on the defensive end as they held the Griffins to 20 points below their average.

More importantly, they held 6-5 senior guard-post combo Finn Coles to 11 points.

“The boys executed and they were adjusting on defense,” the second-year coach said. “They kept an eye on (Coles) and their 3-point shooters.

“We know they had a couple of 3-point shooters that can shoot the ball,” he said. “We didn’t want to give them the opportunity to get hot and start hitting on us. So defensive-wise by boys were on.”

Junior Taye Harvey’s 11 points led Crownpoint while Tyrell Archie added seven.

“It was mostly mental,” Harvey said of overcoming the size discrepancy. “They had some size over us but tonight we stuck together as a team and we had to defend.”

At 22-7, Crownpoint is looking to improve on its overall record as they will take on top-seeded Socorro on Wednesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in Socorro.

“I’m excited about Wednesday’s game,” Goodluck said. “It’s anybody’s game. Ranking don’t mean nothing when it comes to state. It’s who wants it more, and if the boys come to play it might be a different story.”

In the 2A bracket, Rehoboth will host No. 6 Jal at 5 p.m. in a rematch of last year’s 2A title game.

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