Sports

N.M. American Indian Classic

To'Hajiilee pulls out win over Jemez Valley

By Quentin Jodie
Navajo Times

RIO RANCHO, N.M., Jan. 5, 2012

For most of the participants of the New Mexico American Indian Classic basketball tournament, there was a gnawing feeling that manifested into a case of stage fright.

Under the circumstances, they had every right to feel that way.

"I think walking into this arena was a factor," To'Hajiilee boys basketball coach Roberta Secatero said of the Santa Ana Star Center. "Not too many people play in arena like this."

Secatero's team had a difficult time trying to play a little loose in the championship game of the NMAIC's Bear bracket on Dec 30.

In fact, the Warriors (7-3) trailed the entire game until a two-point basket by junior Christian Apachito gave them the lead for good at 38-36 with 2:42 left in the fourth quarter.

And after the final whistle was blown To'Hajiilee beat Jemez Valley 41-38 in tight ball game.

"I think from the very beginning our boys were trying a little too hard," Secatero said. "At halftime I just told them they needed to relax and play their game. They needed to play with 110 percent regardless of what the scoreboard read."

Earlier in the year, Secatero said her team had a much easier time beating Jemez Valley, but in the first half they got a little stagnant on defense.

"Our communication wasn't there in that first half," Secatero said.

The Warriors of Jemez Valley took advantage and increased a 9-5 first quarter cushion into a 22-11 lead at the break with senior guard Darian Sando scoring five of his team-high 12 points in the second quarter.

After the break the pace of the game continued to favor Jemez Valley as they led 34-24 heading into the fourth quarter.

"We were trying to run the ball more, but they knew how we play," To'Hajiilee sophomore post Seth Watuema said of their opponent. "They packed the middle real good, but we just needed one shot to start us off."

It was Watuema who delivered that shot in early going of fourth quarter that started a 5-0 run.

And after Jemez Valley went up 36-29 on a two-point basket by Adrian Chavez, the wheels started to come off for the for the designated visiting team as To'Hajiilee closed out the game on a 12-2 run.

"We just came together as a team," freshman guard Darryl Apachito said, who finished with six points on two treys, including one big one during To'Hajiilee's final run.

Despite come up on the short end, Jemez Valley coach Harlyn Francisco had nothing but strong praise for his club.

"They beat us handily at their own tournament," Francisco said of To'Hajiilee. "This time around we gave them a real big scare."

The difference, Francisco said, was his team came prepared.

"A few weeks ago we were playing all over the place," he said. "Right now we are settling in and we're starting to play with more structure. Really, I think the kids are believing in their abilities."

For Jemez Valley, Christian Sando finished with seven and Keith Garcia helped out with six points.

Warren Nelson led To'Hajiilee with 10 points while Christian Apachito added nine.

At press time no scores were reported in the third place, consolation and seventh place game in the Bear bracket.

In other tournament action, the Magdalena Steers outlasted Tohatchi, 61-55, in the bigger school bracket.

The Steers (8-2) put their size advantage to good use and outscored Tohatchi 18-10 in the second quarter for a 33-22 halftime lead.

Magdalena scored 20 of those points inside the paint with eight coming from senior post Rio Chadde and four from forward Miles Parsca.

"We were really lackadaisical in that first half," Tohatchi coach Albert Jim Jr. said. "We couldn't get anything on track offensively and defensively."

Unfortunately for Tohatchi, things didn't get any better after the break as Magdalena opened up a 46-30 cushion late in the third quarter.

The margin stayed that way until five minutes left in the fourth as senior Brandon Lee hit consecutive baskets that pulled Tohatchi within 52-38.

After trading buckets, Tohatchi put together an 8-0 run, which was capped by sophomore guard Shawn Murphy, and trailed 54-50 with 2:52 left to go.

Tohatchi got as close as 58-55 on a two-point basket by Lee with less than a minute to go before Magdalena iced the game by hitting 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch.

"Everything wasn't going too well for us, but we stuck together," said Lee, who finished with 17 points. "After halftime we all improved."

As for the comeback, Lee admitted that they got tired, "but it was all worth it."

"The fans liked it," he said. "All we did was hustle down court and we just tried to put the ball through the hoop."

And although Tohatchi played desperate, Magdalena coach Jory Mirabal said he was really impressed with their hustle.

"They are a gutsy team," Mirabal said of the Cougars. "You have to give them a lot of credit for coming back. What they did more than anything was they put the tempo where they wanted it."

"We made a lot of ground," said Tohatchi's Jim.

And although his team had a great showing in the second half in Friday night's game, Jim felt the best part of the tournament came on Dec. 29 when the Cougars battled Class 3A Shiprock to the very end before coming up short by a 78-75 count.

After one quarter of play, Tohatchi gained the early advantage with a 17-16 lead before Shiprock took a 37-32 lead at the break.

The Cougars then outscored Shiprock 23-22 in the third and trailed 59-55 before losing the contest by three points.

"For us the competition was good, but I think that was one of the highlights of this tournament," Jim said of their game against Shiprock. "It was very hard to top that game."

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