Wingate Holiday Classic: Late block earns Crownpoint back-to-back titles

FORT WINGATE, N.M.

Crownpoint forward Taye Harvey needs a week or two to get back to his former self.

The Crownpoint senior was sidelined for nearly two weeks, and he got back into the Eagle lineup in last Friday’s semifinal win over the host Bears at the Wingate Holiday Classic.

On Saturday, Harvey finished with six points, but his presence was felt on the other side of the court as he came away with a huge block that helped Crownpoint earn a hard-fought 39-37 win over the Hot Springs Tigers in the title game.

“I didn’t think I was gonna get that because I was like on the other side of the court,” Harvey said.

His block came right after teammate Tyrell Archie hit the back end of a two-foul shot with 1.6 seconds left.

“His block saved us, but I was scared with him blocking that,” Crownpoint coach Thale Goodluck said. “The refs could have called it the other way, but I’m glad he contested it because that shot could have went in.

“You just never know,” he added.

That late game heroics went beyond Harvey’s block as the Eagles battled back from a four-point deficit with 2:38 left in regulation.

After forcing a turnover, Crownpoint point guard Tylon Tsosie hit a two-point basket and following another Hot Springs turnover he collapsed the defense and found Jordan Harrison for a wide open 3.

The senior guard nailed it, giving the Eagles the lead for good at 38-37 with 49 seconds left.

“That’s his shot,” Tsosie said of Harrison. “He likes to hit those corner shots, so I really trust him.”

Tsosie played a considerable role in directing Crownpoint’s offense with his dribble-drive abilities. With that, he was named the tournament’s MVP as he finished with 10 points in the title game.

“It’s pretty cool,” Tsosie said. “I think me and Archie played 50/50 throughout the whole tournament and it could have gone to him too.”

After being held to six points in the opening half, Archie scored 11 in the second as the Eagles erased an 18-13 halftime deficit.

“I really like this group,” Goodluck said as the Eagles improved to 7-1 overall. “The biggest thing for them is they know how to handle the pressure. We were down at halftime, but I told them as long as we keep chopping we’re gonna be successful.

“Sure enough that is what they did,” he added.

The title game was a mirror image of last year’s finals as Crownpoint edged Hot Springs 48-46.

“We lost some key players last year, but this year we’ve had other players from our JV team last year step up,” Goodluck said. “It shows that we’re doing something right as a coaching staff by winning back-to-back.

“Hopefully, next year we’ll be successful again with a new crew,” he added. “We just got to make sure we replenish our program by filling in the gaps once our seniors graduate.”

Like his coach, Tsosie said it was sweet to win another title at the Wingate tournament.

“We’re playing with a lot of confidence,” he said. “We’re doing really well in the 3A division, and I feel like we can make a deep playoff run.”

Last season, the Eagles won its first state game before losing to top-seed Socorro by a 66-57 count in the second round.

“We have a lot of potential,” Goodluck said, while noting that they need to stay healthy for the remainder of the season.

“We had two players that got hurt when we played in the West Las Vegas tournament two weeks ago,” the Crownpoint coach said. “It took them out for over aa week, and we’re trying to get them back into shape.”

“I think we could have done better,” Harvey said. “I mean, we haven’t played for two weeks so that kind of threw us off, but our coach is proud of us going back-to-back.”

As for the district race, Goodluck said the league is loaded with Navajo Prep, Newcomb and Tohatchi returning some core players.

“Our district is gonna be strong and I like that,” he said. “It’s good that every school in our district is stepping up their programs.”

Before last season, Goodluck stated that the teams in District 1-3A were unrepresented and they usually were ousted in the first round.

Last year, three teams made the playoffs with Navajo Prep and Crownpoint getting into the state quarterfinals.

“With the teams in our district more competitive we might get someone further in the playoffs and maybe in the state title game,” Goodluck said. “It’s good that our district is gonna be tough because we get a chance to build each other up.”

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