Bloomfield hits free throws to beat Gallup in district finale

By Santiago Ramos Jr.
Special to the Times

GALLUP – The No. 3 district seed Bloomfield Bobcats sank five free throws in a row in the final 24 seconds to seal a 51-44 win over the top seed Gallup Bengals Saturday night during the District 1-4A tournament finals.

Clinging to a slim 46-44 lead, the Bobcats marched to the free throw and sank five consecutive free throws to earn the District 1-4A tournament championship trophy over the hometown Bengals before a capacity crowd at the Bengal Den.

After the Bengals were whistled for their fifth foul of the fourth quarter, that put the Bobcats in the bonus situation, which meant two free throws for each foul. Bloomfield senior guard Drake House missed his first attempt but converted his second free throw to give Bloomfield a 47-44 lead.

Gallup did not help its situation as it turned the ball over on consecutive possessions with two bad passes. After each turnover, the Bengals fouled.

Bobcat junior guard Xavier Abernathy buried two free throws with 15.7 seconds left and after Gallup’s second turnover, House returned back to the line and canned both of his attempts, securing a seven-point win.

“It was key,” Bloomfield head coach Dominique Richardson said of the clutch free throws. “And we struggled with free throws all year, but these kids are so mentally tough. We lost games like this, and they wanted to have the ball in their hands to make free throws. And the right guys got it and we won the game so I’m happy for them. I told the guys to relax and take care of the ball and be strong. We’re in the lead and in no rush.”

Under Richardson, who formerly coached at Newcomb for five years, the 15-14 Bobcats went through the entire bracket to end up earning one of the last two spots in this week’s Class 4A state tournament. They’ll be the No. 15 seed after missing the No. 16 seed by one spot last year. The Bobcats will travel to No. 2 seed Valley (21-6) Saturday for a Sweet 16 match with the Vikings. Game time is 5 p.m.

After a close, low-scoring opening quarter, Gallup (14-13) led 10-9. The Bengals established some breathing room early in the second period with an 8-3 spurt. Gallup sophomore power forward Kelton Edison scored on a power move inside and then banged in two free throws that gave the home team a 20-14 cushion. But the visiting Bobcats fought back with baskets by House and Abernathy, who tallied 10 points along with 12 rebounds, three steals and two assists. A clutch trey by junior Miguel Herrera pushed Bloomfield into the lead, 23-22, with three minutes left in the first half. Bobcat senior guard Andrew Florez, who led all scorers with 21 points along with eight rebounds, two assists and one steal, buried a three from the left side that swung the momentum to Bloomfield.

In the lead and in control, the Bobcats would not trail the rest of the night (The two squads split their previous two contests this season, with each team winning at home. The Bengals won a 67-59 decision in their first meeting, while the Bobcats eked out a 65-62 victory in their second contest.)

In the second half Saturday, Flores added a pair of scores along with a free throw early in the third quarter. That capped off a splendid 14-1 Bloomfield run with their fans yelling and twirling their yellow towels at the same time.

Bengal sophomore guard Jayson Bruner tallied nine of his 11 points in the third quarter.

The Bengals roared back in the fourth quarter, wiping out almost all of a 10-point Bobcat lead, 46-36, with 5:40 left.

Bengal senior point guard Tavian Joe nailed a shot while falling down and senior forward Trelin Brunner scored after coming up with a steal and drew Gallup to within two points, 46-44.

That set up Bloomfield’s march to the free throw line in the final 24 seconds of the ballgame.

Richardson pointed out that his Bobcats had an opportunity to win the district top seed outright but stumbled against Shiprock to end the regular season.

“We had a chance to win it (the top seed) outright against Shiprock in the second to last district game and we lost by nine (51-42). But we knew we had to come in and win three games. These kids are resilient. They battled and we came out with a victory. Now we get to go and play a first round game. We’re happy to get in. We haven’t been in (at state) in 10 years. My seniors have been wanting this. It’s now win or go home.”

With the loss the 14-13 Bengals secured the No. 13 seed and will have to play at No. 4 Albuquerque Academy (23-5) Saturday for their first round game. Game time is 6 p.m.

Bloomfield beat Aztec 57-42 in the district first round game and then upset No. 2 seed Shiprock 35-30 Thursday night in the district semifinals while Gallup topped Shiprock 76-73 in the tie-breaker game and then took care of Kirtland Central 66-49 in the semis.

“The game with Shiprock was a very sloppy game,” Richardson said. “They were making a lot of shots. But we battled and played defense. Tonight we guarded. It’s been our ammo all year. We guard, guard. And we came out with a victory and that I’m happy for.”

For the game, Bloomfield had a slight edge at the line, sinking 13-of-17 free throws while Gallup was 11-of-14.

The Bobcats shot 44 percent (17-of-39) while the Bengals did a little better with 48 percent shooting (16-of-33).

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