Alamo’s Jacob Apache gets lots of air as he looks for an open fellow Cougar against Mescalero.
Russell Huffman | El Defensor Chieftain

ALAMO – Mescalero came looking for a little revenge after being denied the Striking Eagle Invitational championship by Alamo Navajo last week, but the Chiefs left disappointed on Jan. 7 as the Cougars handed the Chiefs a 51-39 loss to improve to 11-3.

The Cougars escaped with a 39-37 win in the invitation tournament but proved to be a tougher foe at home. Ironically the high number of fouls against Alamo followed them into the contest.

Mescalero was whistled just seven times while the Cougars seemed to be the referee’s favorite target with 14 fouls, but Alamo overcame its challenges and lifted its game to new heights.

It wasn’t one or two players hitting lots of shots but more about the Cougars’ chemistry and evident court awareness. Down the stretch, Alamo pulled off several fakes and no-look passes that were all based on “got to be there” plays.

Things didn’t start that way as the Cougars looked a little hyped and let Mescalero take away the ball and establish a 9-8 first-quarter lead.

Alamo turned up its defense in the second quarter, and it was rough and tumble over the next eight minutes, but Mescalero made only three field goals as the Cougars’ Jacob Apache punched in nine of his team’s 20 points.

Mathis Apachito, Scotty Guerro and Jay Apachito also got in on the action, and both Apache and Guerro would pour it on in the second half as the Cougars went on cruise control.

Guerro’s 18 points led all scorers, and Apache had 15. Still, the real excitement was about how the Cougars had elevated their court awareness and chemistry.

“They committed to this team. They’re hungry, and I’m excited for that,” Alamo coach Lemuel Guerro said. “We regroup. We work on what we need to work on. They want to win by more than 10 points. They played great defense today, and we were in tune on offense.”

The Cougars are set to travel to Quemado on Jan. 12 and open their District 3 1A play against Carrizozo at home on Jan. 17.

Scoring

Jacob Apache 15, Mathis Apachito 6, Mike Monte 1, Scotty Guerro 18, Jay Apachito 11.

Russell Huffman | Assistant Editor