Gallup Bengals Top Miyamura, Claim District Title and No. 1 Seed

Isaiah Tom knocked down multiple three-pointers and Nathaniel Yazzie delivered in the paint as the Gallup Bengals closed the District 1-4A regular season with a decisive road win over crosstown rival Miyamura on March 30, finishing district play at 9-1 and claiming the top seed heading into the tournament.

The game was played in front of a sold-out crowd at Miyamura High School, where a Gallup-Miyamura matchup consistently produces the most charged atmosphere in McKinley County prep basketball. Tom's perimeter shooting set the tone early, Kristian Touchine added his own long-range firepower, and Yazzie provided interior scoring and highlight plays that pushed the Bengals to a double-digit lead before the fourth quarter. Gallup carried that cushion through the final stretch and never let the Patriots close the gap.

Head coach Joshua Dunlap noted the significance of rivalry games and praised his team's focus with the postseason on the horizon. That composure inside an electric road environment was telling: the Bengals absorbed everything Miyamura's home crowd could generate and kept executing.

The No. 1 seed has concrete implications for the district bracket. Gallup will host all of its tournament games at Gallup High School, turning the postseason into a home-court run Dunlap's program has capitalized on before. With a 9-1 regular-season district record, the Bengals enter as the team everyone in the bracket must beat on the road, in front of a Bengal fanbase that shows up.

The district tournament is now underway. Games at Gallup High School open doors at 3:45 p.m., with bracket updates available through the Gallup-McKinley County Schools athletics page and the Navajo Times.