Winslow pulls away from Ganado, reaches title game

Posted by Quentin Jodie | Feb 25, 2017 | Basketball |

Navajo Times | Donovan Quintero
Winslow Bulldog Rory Billie (3) takes the ball to the hoop as Ganado Hornets teammates Jamaal Coleman, right, and Daryl Lincoln (24) attempt to block his shot Friday night during the boy’s 3A semifinal game at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona. Winslow defeated the Hornets, 59-42, and will take on Fountain Hills at 6:30 p.m. for the championship title.

GLENDALE, Ariz.

Winslow coach Scott Corum stared in frustration when his team gave up an easy layup to Ganado just as time expired in the first half on Friday night at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

The two-point basket by Hornet senior Daryl Lincoln cut Winslow’s lead down to 19-18 at the break.

Navajo Times | Donovan Quintero
Ganado Hornet Daryl Lincoln, center, leaps to the air and shoots for the basket against defending Winslow Bulldog Darius James (10) at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

Needless to say, he was in a better mood in the second half as Winslow advanced into the Arizona Class 3A state championship game. After a back-and-forth contest, the Bulldogs pulled away from Ganado in the final six minutes of the game to post a 59-42 win.

“I told them their backs were on the wall and their season is on the line and they were playing a little scared,” Corum said of his halftime pep talk. “They needed to play like there is no tomorrow and they really responded.”

The Bulldogs tightened its defense late in the third and scored six straight points to go up 39-31 going into the fourth.

The Hornets scored two quick baskets to get within four points but Winslow scored eight of the next 10 points with most of them coming in transition.

“Our speed really hurt them and they had a hard time dealing with that,” Corum said. “We got more aggressive and it seem like in the second half we got some more loose ball and turnovers.”

Senior guard Pete Dalgai led the Bulldogs with 22 points with most of those points coming inside despite the presence of 6-8 Ganado center Jamaal Coleman.

“We buckled down on defense and we kept driving it in,” said Dalgai, who added that they overcame some early jitters in the first half.

Those early nerves fell to the wayside as the Bulldogs got more confident in the second half, thanks to their defense.

“Our defense is where we get our energy and our offense just clicks for us,” said Winslow senior Rory Billie, who finished with eight points and 17 rebounds.

As the tournament’s No. 9 seed, the Bulldogs will try to end their incredible run with a championship trophy on Saturday night. Winslow will face No. 3 seed Fountain Hills in the finals with the tipoff scheduled at 6:30 p.m.

Fountain Hills defeated Northwest Christian, 55-43.

“We are going to try to make it fast because they are going to try and slow it down,” Corum said of Fountain Hills. “We just need to play our game.”

Earlier this week, Winslow took out the top seed Chandler Valley Christian with a 63-54 win.

“It’s anybody’s game and these ranking don’t mean anything at this point,” Billie said when asked about his thoughts of beating two teams seeded higher than them. “The No. 1 and No. 2 seed got out in the third round so it’s anybody’s game.”

Ganado ended their season at 28-5, one game short of reaching the championship game.

Senior Michael Yellowhair led the Hornets with 15 points while Lincoln added 10 and Coleman helped out with eight.

“Great effort by Ganado,” Corum said. “I have to tip my hat off to them.

To read the full article, pick up your copy of the Navajo Times at your nearest newsstand Thursday mornings!

Are you a digital subscriber? Read the most recent three weeks of stories by logging in to your online account.

Find newsstand locations at this link.

Or, subscribe via mail or online here.