Gallup Bengals stun Kirtland Central 73-69 in OT, claim District 1-4A title

Gallup Bengals beat the Kirtland Central Broncos 73-69 in overtime to capture the District 1-4A tournament title, a result Tri-City Record said is consequential for Gallup’s seeding and momentum heading into postseason play. The Bengals closed regulation after a third-quarter surge and outscored Kirtland 9-5 in the extra period to secure the victory.

The quarter-by-quarter scoring showed Gallup 17-18-20-9-9 for 73 and Kirtland Central 19-14-9-22-5 for 69, with Gallup leading 35-33 at halftime. Gallup’s third quarter proved decisive: the Bengals outscored the Broncos 20-9, including an 8-0 run in the final four minutes that pushed Gallup into a 55-42 lead entering the fourth.

Whitehair led Gallup with 23 points and opened the second half with a trey in the opening minute of the third quarter, Tri-City Record reported. Junior Camira Cooper-Randles followed with back-to-back three-point scoring plays in the third; on the second sequence Cooper-Randles drove, was fouled by Haylee Nocki, scored and converted the ensuing free throw to further extend Gallup’s margin. Summer Joe, a junior, added 12 points for the Bengals, and Tsosie finished with 11.

Kirtland Central mounted a late comeback behind Haylee Nocki, who scored 13 points with 11 of those coming in the final eight minutes of regulation. Tsingine-Yazzie fouled out with 3:57 remaining, and Gallup led 64-59 with 90 seconds left in regulation before failing to convert on back-to-back possessions, allowing Nocki to drive and cut the margin to three and force overtime. In the extra period Gallup outscored the Broncos 9-5 to close out the 73-69 win.

Tri-City Record quoted Manning on Kirtland Central’s late adjustments: “They changed up their press break a little bit,” Manning said. “The runs they had were more extended, and we turned the ball over way too much. They punched us in the mouth a little bit.” The supplied coverage did not identify Manning’s specific role.

Gallup head coach Todd McBroom was unavailable for comment after the district final win, Tri-City Record noted. The district final result is distinct from an earlier meeting between the two programs: MaxPreps’ Jan. 23, 2026 recap shows Gallup defeated Kirtland Central 63-43 that day, a win that extended Gallup’s streak to three and bumped the Bengals to 12-6 while Kirtland was 4-14 at the time. MaxPreps highlighted Jayson Bruner’s 17 points, seven assists and seven rebounds and Joshua Keeto’s nine points with eight steals and seven assists in that Jan. 23 game, and recorded team assist totals of 18 for Gallup and 11 for Kirtland; that Jan. 23 game is available for replay on the NFHS Network per MaxPreps.

The Bengals’ District 1-4A crown gives Gallup a district title to carry into postseason play; Tri-City Record framed the result as consequential for Gallup’s seeding and momentum as bracket announcements approach. Further official box-score details and full player first names remain to be confirmed with scorekeepers and team officials.