Tohatchi boys shoot lights out in win over Navajo Prep

TOHATCHI, N.M. – Behind a dozen treys, the Tohatchi boys basketball team rolled to a 60-44 win over Navajo Prep on Wednesday night.

The Cougars shot lights out in the opening half and seized a 37-15 halftime cushion. Tohatchi guards Kyle Yazzie and Josh Dawes combined for nine first-half treys as the two backcourt players shouldered most the load for the 13-2 Cougars.

“All week, we got ready, and we prepared for this game,” said Dawes, who led all-scorers with 21 points on six treys.

“This was a good night for us (shooting-wise),” Dawes said. “When I saw him (Kyle) open, I gave him the ball because I know he can shoot. He started off with a 3, and that got us going. That gave me confidence to shoot, too.”

Yazzie, who nailed five treys, finished with 19 points as the Eagles had no answer for the two experienced guards.

“My shots were mostly off transition,” Yazzie said. “Whenever we got the rebound, I was the first one back in transition. And when they (Navajo Prep) collapsed in the middle, I stayed out on the 3.

“They were more focused on Josh, and then Josh would pass it to me in the corner,” he added.

Tohatchi coach Lionel Livingston applauded his entire team for the 16-point league win as Tohatchi heads into tonight’s game with Crownpoint at 1-0 in District 1-3A play.

“This was a team effort, and they worked their behinds tonight,” Livingston said. “I know Navajo Prep has a lot of shooters and our guys did a good job of closing them out. They (Navajo Prep) also have an aggressive inside game, but they had to match up with our big boys like Valentino (Dawes) and Adriano (Begay).”

As for his 1-2 punch, the Tohatchi coach said his entire team did a superb job of finding both Dawes and Yazzie out in the perimeter.

“We just keyed off of those two guys, and we just rode the momentum on that,” said Livingston, who also praised junior guard DeAndre Rios for assisting his teammates.

“DeAndre was so unselfish,” the Tohatchi coach said. “He had opportunities to score, but he gave the ball to the two guys that were hot. Those guys shot lights out from the 3, so he wasn’t selfish. To me, that is what made him really shine tonight.”

After a pair of misses from both squads, Navajo Prep took its only lead when sophomore Breyden Benally (six points) nailed a trey with 6:28 left in the opening quarter.

The Cougars then scored 12 of the next 14 points behind Yazzie’s two treys and transition layup.

The visiting Eagles pulled with 12-7 on a basket by senior Xavier Nez (10 points) with under a minute. But Dawes answered that with a 3-pointer as Tohatchi led 15-7 heading into the second.

In the second, both Dawes and Yazzie were money from beyond the arc as Dawes launched four treys while Yazzie added three. Those trifectas increased Tohatchi’s lead to 33-15 at the break.

“Hats off to Tohatchi,” first-year Navajo Prep coach Mark Teel said. “I knew they were good, and I knew they played together as a team. It’s something that we’re still working on.

“I mean, I’m impressed,” he added. “I was impressed with them on film anyway, you know, with teams they played and who they beat.”

Teel conceded that Tohatchi’s shooting performance in the opening half was the best he’s seen this season.

“Man, they shot unbelievable tonight,” he said. “And, you know, it happens. That’s the one thing I love about basketball – any night that can happen (but) it just broke us emotionally.

“You know, we came out and we couldn’t buy a shot,” he added. “It’s the second game in a row that happened to us. We usually shoot pretty good.”

Despite playing from behind, the Teel-coached team opened the second half with an 8-0 run to get within 33-23 after a made 3-pointer from junior guard BJ Brandser with 4:23 left.

That was a close as the Eagles would get as a transition layup by Yazzie jumpstarted a quarter-ending 8-0 run.

A basket by Dawes at the start of the fourth capped a 10-0 rally as Tohatchi increased its lead to 43-23.

“Our transition game really speaks for itself,” Livingston said, while adding that his team still needs to shore up some stuff as they’ll play Navajo Prep again on Feb. 5 in Farmington.

“We had a good start on them but a couple of times we had some letdowns on defense,” Livingston said. “They made a run on us, so we have to play solid defense. We also need to be a little bit more consistent on the offensive end.”

The 16-point win ended a long drought for Tohatchi as the Cougars beat ‘Prep for the first time in six years.

“It’s been about that long since we’ve beaten them,” said Livingston, who served as an assistant coach before being named head coach last season.

With the loss, Navajo Prep’s dropped its first league game in two-plus years as the Eagles had racked up 35 straight wins. It’s last loss came during the 2021-22 season when ‘Prep came up short to Crownpoint 59-48 on Jan. 25, 2022.

Despite having its streak broken, Teel believes they can still win the district.

“This was the first game, and we still have a long season,” Teel said. “I was in the exact same spot last year, so we’ll see what happens.”

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