Red Mesa edges Hopi

RED MESA—Jackson Brossy fired in 25 points as Red Mesa edged Hopi, 66-65, in boys’ high school basketball action Thursday in Red Mesa.

Hopi fell to 5-13 overall and 3-3 in the 2A North.

Dellen Lomayestewa led Hopi with a career high 23 points, Cisco Mata tossed in 15 and Davin Leslie scored eight. Peterson Brossy, Uryan Shorty and Gabriel Spencer added eight apiece for Red Mesa.

Both teams held the opposition’s best scorers to low point totals. Theus Begay, who scored 43 points against Hopi earlier in the season, was held to seven points. Hopi’s Leslie, who often scores more than 20 points, was held to eight. Hopi shooters Emmett Navakuku and Tom Silas were held to a deuce each.

Theus Begay netted five and Gabriel Spencer four points as Red Mesa led 18-15 after the first quarter despite a 10-point effort by Lomayestewa.

Lomayestewa poured in nine more points in the second stanza as Hopi jumped ahead, 37-36, at intermission. Jackson Brossy netted eight points during the second quarter.

Mata and Lomayestewa scored four each during the third period as Hopi stayed ahead, 53-51. Jackson Brossy scored a half dozen points during the quarter.

Brossy poured in nine points during the fourth quarter as Red Mesa pulled out the squeaker.

Despite the loss, Hopi High Coach Jeff Lambert said the Bruins played very well. He said the offense worked well with Lomayestewa and Mata scoring and Garrick Jones doing a good job of distributing the ball. Lomayestewa scored all 23 of his points in the first three quarters and Lambert felt “he just ran out of juice.”

Coach Lambert commended Chris Hawk for the defensive effort that shut down Theus Begay.

Both teams had leads of five points, but most of the fourth quarter found each team with one-point leads. Hopi had a chance to win, but missed a last second shot.

“Our offense executed batter than it had recently, but our defense couldn’t make the stops at crucial times,” Coach Lambert continued. “It’s tough to win on the road. Red Mesa is a good team that’s well coached by Lee Tom Begay. Red Mesa’s program has improved leaps and bound in the past four years. They will only get better if Lee Tom Begay stays there. The conference will have to look for them in the upcoming tournament and the future.”

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