Wingate Holiday Classic
Tohatchi loses to undefeated Laguna-Acoma
By Alastair Lee Bitsoi
Navajo Times
FORT WINGATE, N.M., Dec. 22, 2011
(Special to the Times - Donovan Quintero)
Tohatchi's Marcus Burbank (34) flies past Laguna-Acoma's Dalton Davis during the Wingate Holiday Classic championship game Dec. 16 in Fort Wingate. The Hawks dominated Tohatchi, 88-48.
For the first four minutes of the opening quarter, the Cougars (5-4) brought high energy and held a brief lead at 8-4.
Tohatchi's energy, however, was momentarily sucked away when the Hawks (9-0) resorted to their signature 1-3-1 full-court pressure - a key defensive move by Laguna-Acoma head coach Ryan Piel that blew open the game and led to an 88-48 rout.
"We executed the game plan perfectly," said Tohatchi head coach Albert Jim. "We got what we wanted until we blew five layups. They converted on those and got that cushion there. When it rains, it pours."
The deluge Jim alluded to is the hot shooting by the Hawks, who scored off Tohatchi turnovers to take a 22-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Laguna-Acoma point guard Antonio Carpio scored 10 of those 22 points.
During the first quarter, Tohatchi also got some production from its leading scorer, Marcus Burbank, who scored four of his game-high 22 points to keep his Cougars close.
In the second quarter, the Hawks used the press and man-to-man defense to force Tohatchi into more turnovers.
Carpio, who was the tournament's most valuable player, scored 15 points in the quarter, including back-to-back treys, to put his team up 44-16 with 3:40 left in the period.
Once Carpio and the rest of the starting five did their damage, they were subbed out. The second string Hawks outscored the Cougars 9-4 to take a 53-20 lead at the break.
Midway through the third quarter, the Hawks had built their lead to 60-30.
Tohatchi's Burbank tallied four more points and Kevin Wylie also scored four points in the quarter.
Laguna-Acoma's Cameron Riley and Elijah Ruben combined for nine points to keep their team ahead at 69-38.
Entering the fourth period, the mercy rule was put in effect with a running clock.
On the third play of the quarter, Carpio anticipated a pass and ran the length of the court for a dunk, which fired-up his teammates, supporters and the Bears fans who were cheering against their archrival Tohatchi.
In addition to Carpio, Riley and Ruben, the Hawks also got production from Austin Jones with 10, Josh Paytimo with 10, and Augustus Cuch with seven points. Seven other players also scored for the Hawks.
For the Cougars, Burbank led with 22 points, while Wylie scored 10 points and Lydale Thomas finishing with eight points.
"Tohatchi is a really good team," said first-year Laguna-Acoma head coach Ryan Piel, who previously served as an assistant coach at West Mesa in Albuquerque. "They play real hard. They didn't quit, they didn't give up.
"We got off to a slow start," added Piel. "When that happens you just got to keep playing defense."
His team forced the Cougars into 28 turnovers, compared to his team's 14.
"What we talked about is the fact that we didn't play good defense against Zuni at all," Piel said about LA's 79-63 first round win over Zuni, the closest any team has played them to date.
Nonetheless, Piel said, his boys are excited to win their third straight tournament of the year.
"The Lord's blessed me with a good team," Piel said. "We have some really good athletes and they're playing well together. We work hard at practice and we are trying to get better. It's still early. We are trying to get ready for district."
For the Cougars, the game was a measuring stick of where they need to be to compete with the top teams in Class 2A.
"We played Santa Fe Prep at the Rehoboth tournament and at that time they were the No. 7-rated team in the state," Jim said. "LA is definitely a top10 team. Coming in undefeated here, they got put to the test and that was good to see. That was good experience."
With one returning senior in Brandon Lee, the future looks positive for the Cougars for the next several years.
"Out of the remaining players, they are mostly juniors and sophomores," Jim said. "Leaps and bounds, improvements will be made. Things will be happening this year as well as next year."
