Revamped NTU men’s team ends 15-game losing streak

CROWNPOINT – The Navajo Technical University men’s basketball team needed this win. Instead, it earned a pair of victories.

The Skyhawks posted two conference wins over the same foe this weekend, which halted a 15-game losing streak to teams outside of its division.

Facing Cal Miramar, which is based in San Diego, NTU recorded an 88-78 win on Saturday night. It capped the weekend with an 85-68 triumph on Sunday afternoon at NTU’s home gym with a revamped lineup.

“It’s good to be winning again,” Skyhawk freshman shooting guard Albrandon Byjoe said. “Everything kind of went downhill, but we’re starting to see some positives.”

The Skyhawks played with a smaller lineup as three of its team members were dismissed due to actions that were “deemed incompatible with the standards and values we uphold in the program and as an institution,” NTU men’s basketball coach Robb Floco stated.

“This decision was made after careful consideration and evaluation of the circumstances surrounding each player’s action,” Floco said. “We wish them the very best. I’m very proud of how the other nine players have shown resiliency during that time.”

Before playing Cal Miramar, NTU played a handful of NCAA and NAIA level teams during that losing skid which included Division I program Weber State University and Division II teams Eastern New Mexico, Fort Lewis College and University of Texas Permian Basin.

The Skyhawks are a member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association and that allows them to play any collegiate program from the NAIA to the NCAA level.

“We played some tough competition, but I feel like that kind of helped us individually and as a team,” NTU guard/forward Quinn Atazhoon said. “We played against bigger guys, and coming into our league, it’s made it so much easier.”

The NTU coach concurred while adding that their pre-conference schedule was a huge challenge.

“We bit off more than we could chew, but we did that so that we could get ready for our conference,” Floco said. “I told the guys that if we win the conference, everybody is going to get a ring.

“That is what we’re playing for,” he added.

NTU is in its first year playing in the South Western States Intercollegiate Conference (SWS). The Skyhawks sit at 6-18 overall and 2-2 in conference. They trail frontrunners Lincoln College (Oakland, California) and Justice College (Chandler, Arizona) in the seven-team league.

The rest of the league includes Stanton University (Garden Grove, California), West Coast Baptist College (Lancaster, California), Bethesda University (Anaheim, California), and Southern California Leadership University (Westminster, California).

According to Floco, the suspended players were released in mid-December as the NTU team played its third game without them on Saturday night.

“What I love is we have the ‘next man up’ attitude with our smaller lineup,” Floco said. “These guys are not backing down; we’re still being physical and we’re up to the challenge.”

Defensively, the Skyhawks are giving up some height in the interior, but Floco likes the chemistry he’s seeing from his squad.

“Obviously, we don’t have our 6-10 players, but I think it’s helped out a little bit with our cohesiveness,” he said. “Over the last few games, we’ve been averaging (88) points per game.”

The NTU coach added that his current lineup is compatible with the rest of the teams in the conference.

“We got the same body styles and body types,” he said. “They don’t have guys over 6’6” and so it’s sort of a guard-oriented league.

“I think with our tough schedule, we got some tough skin,” he added. “They know they had bigger guys hanging on them, so they have a little bit of freedom now because they competed at a high level with Weber State and all these Division II teams.”

On Sunday, NTU trailed 39-38 at the break but in the middle of the second half they looked stronger in dispatching the visiting Fighting Falcons.

Byjoe opened the second half with a rare four-point play for a 42-39 advantage. After trading buckets, Cal Miramar regained the lead at the 13:35 mark when Waylon Anderson hit a three-pointer from the baseline for a 54-53 advantage.

For the next nine-plus minutes, NTU held the Fighting Falcons to only two baskets as it erased that deficit and led 78-58 with five minutes left on a basket from freshman point guard Anthony Alvez, who finished with two points and several assists.

“I think Anthony did a great (job) of getting the ball to our scorers,” Floco said. “We handled the pressure a lot better and that’s commendable on his end.”

Defensively, the Skyhawks changed gears, going from a press to a 2-3 zone.

“The alternating tempo bothered them a little bit because usually most games are up-tempo, and we made a minor adjustment,” the NTU coach said. “They missed some shots and were able to get on a run.”

Byjoe led all scorers with 26 points while sophomore teammate Brady Ramone added 22. The Skyhawks also received 14 points from Atazhoon and 11 each from Talon West and Kane Kenyon

“We’re doing this by committee,” Floco said. “That is the style we play. The ball will find us in our offense if we share it. I think with our group of nine guys they’re a little (more) unselfish than maybe with the group we had early on.

“That’s a testament to them,” he added. “They are continuing to show up and wanting to improve and just understanding the college game.”

NTU is traveling to the Phoenix metro area for three conference games this weekend. On Saturday morning, the Skyhawks will play SCLU at 10 a.m. with the site yet to be determined.

Later that day, they will tangle with Stanton College at 3 p.m. on the Justice College campus in Chandler.

NTU will then close out the weekend with Bethesda University at 5 p.m. on Sunday at Justice College.

Floco said playing these conference games down in the Valley is a cost effective measure for the program and the league.

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