Fort Defiance – Arizona State 3A state playoff boys basketball brackets will be announced early next month.
Tuba City hopes to be one of the 24 teams competing this year. But the Warriors have some work to do, as they were ranked 28th in last Friday's Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) statewide poll.
“We know what we're facing,” Tuba City coach Pete Butler said. He said: “There are some games we have to win to get to the round of 24. We have mapped out what we need to do.”
Tuba City outscored host Window Rock, 54-46, in a key North Region 3A showdown Saturday night at the Bee Houzil Fighting Scout Events Center in Fort Defiance. The roadmap included a must-win scenario for the team.
“We had to remind them that this game is extremely important for us,” Butler said. “We've got to take this to the road. You know, it's always hard to win here at Window Rock because of the elevation.”
According to Wikipedia, there is an elevation difference of nearly 1,900 feet between the two Navajo communities, with Fort Defiance having an elevation of 6,798 feet.
“It's pretty high up here, so my guys were breathing in the wind,” Butler said. “I guess they felt it.”
After trailing 12-11 in the first quarter, the Warriors gradually increased their defensive pressure and held Window Rock to just seven points in the second period.
Offensively, junior guard Tyler Tzinie took charge of Tuba City's offense, scoring seven of his game-best 16 points in the quarter as the Warriors took a 29-19 advantage at the break.
Despite below-average shooting, neither team found a rhythm in the third quarter, with Window Rock outscoring the Warriors 9-6. The Fighting Scouts got a late three from sophomore guard Jaylen Brown to get within 35-28 heading into the fourth quarter.
Coach Butler's team took a 12-point lead, 40-30 (42-30? 40-28?), on a classic 3-point play by Tzinie with 7:04 remaining.
Later in the quarter, Window Rock used a 9-2 run to get within 48-44 points, but just fell just short.
The Warriors rounded out the win with six points from junior Aidan Dugi, including 4-of-4 from the charity line. In the game, Tuba City made 17 of 19 free throws for an eight-point victory.
“This was really big because we’ve been struggling at the free throw line,” Butler said. “We're probably a 50 percent free-throw shooting team. When we get to the free-throw line, we cringe.
“Tonight gave us a little bit of breathing room,” he added.
With seven games left in the regular season, the Warriors will be hoping to pick up a few more wins before the start of the 3A North Region tournament, scheduled for Feb. 8-10 at the Events Center in Fort Defiance. ing.
“We're looking for opportunities, but we still need to win away games,” Butler said. “We still have to go to Ganado and win. We need to take at least one game from one of the top three teams (Paige, Shinle, Monument Valley) on our home court to have a chance to make the playoffs.
“It's going to be a close race,” he added. “The opportunity is there. We're talking about different scenarios to get in there.”
And although his team lacks size, Butler feels they are still a contender in the 3A North race.
“We have to do a good job boxing and complement it with aggressive defense,” the Tuba City coach said. “That's something we have to do more and more of. We're getting better at it,
“We're not a finished team yet, but we're getting there,” he added. “We started as a quarter team and now we’re two or three quarters in. We’re almost ready to put four quarters together. It will happen.”
