Clovis basketball teams lose on the road

ARTESIA — It was Jekyll and Hyde again for the Clovis girls basketball team on Friday at Artesia. And unfortunately for the Lady Wildcats, it was Hyde’s turn to appear.

As it has at times in the past this season, cold shooting hurt the Lady ’Cats, who saw their win streak halted at two when they fell 56-38 at Artesia High School, dropping to 8-6 in the process.

Clovis was in it early, trailing just 12-7 after one quarter, and not at all out of it at halftime, down by a reasonable 25-16 count.

Then came the second half where the bottom dropped out.

By the third quarter’s end it was 38-24 Artesia. By the final buzzer, Clovis had lost by 18.

“We couldn’t put the ball in the hole and they came out in the second half and took over,” Clovis head coach Jeff Reed said. “And we missed tons and tons and tons of shots inside. ... We weren’t there mentally or physically tonight, and Artesia came out and beat us in every phase of the game. We’ve got to learn that we can’t just walk into a gym and win. ... We’re a good team and we have a chance to beat some teams and get a win, but we just can’t walk into a gym and do what we want to do. ... We can’t go cold like that.

“Artesia (6-6) gave us plenty of opportunities. We could not take advantage of them.”

Teya Morris was the lone Wildcat in double figures, tossing in 11 points.

Clovis won’t play again until visiting Goddard on Tuesday, with the junior varsity action tipping off at 4 p.m., and the varsity game to follow at roughly 5:30.

Reed says the Lady Wildcats practice on weekends and that, along with Monday afternoon, should give them time to work things out. Whether or not it’s an advantage remains to be seen.

“What our problem is, you can’t work on,” Reed said. “They’ve just got to step up mentally and physically.”

Clovis boys lose rematch

HOBBS — For the second time in its second meeting this season with Hobbs, the Clovis boys basketball team lost, this time 77-52 on the road Friday night.

And, for the second consecutive night, the Wildcats were felled by a rough third quarter. Thursday, that had done them in against Roswell at home.

“Yeah, we didn’t have a good third quarter (Friday); kind of a repeat from (Thursday) night,” Clovis head coach Scott Robinson said.

Clovis has now lost two in a row following a six-game winning streak, and has dropped to 7-7.

Friday night, the Wildcats were down only 20-14 after one quarter, and trailed 36-26 at the break.

“At halftime we had a chance to be closer than 10, maybe even tie on just layups and free throws in the first half,” Robinson said. “We had five turnovers (in the third quarter) that led to five baskets for them, and that 10-point lead becomes 20 and completely changed the dynamics of the game.”

Hobbs, in fact, outscored Clovis 21-6 in the third quarter. Each team scored 20 in the fourth, but the die had been cast for the Wildcats; Hobbs (10-5) was already in control heading into the final period.

“We didn’t do a good job taking care of the ball tonight,” Robinson said. “They forced us into a lot of turnovers that turned into easy buckets for them.”

Clovis did have balanced scoring. Jakeem Wynn led the Wildcats with 12 points, followed by Jacob Moon and Dominick Urioste with 11 each, and Bryce Cabeldue with 10.

Clay Strasner and Alec Finney torched the ’Cats with 56 combined points. Strasner had 31 points, Finney 25.

Clovis visits Goddard on Tuesday, with tipoff time slated for 7 p.m.

Wildcat box scores

Girls

Artesia 56, Clovis 38

Clovis (8-6) — Mikyla Harkley 1, Brittni Chavez 3, Teya Morris 11, Antanishwa Molett 4, Kaydee Weaver 8, Haylee Kidd 2, Azzianna Smith 3, Annabelle Martinez 2, Madison Tolbert 4. Totals 15 7-16 38.

Artesia (6-6) — Riggs 3, Martinez 5, Gonzalez 11, Fuentes 12, Crandall 8, Harrison 4, Gardenia 2, Houghtaling 11. Totals 18 14-19 56.

Clovis 7 9 8 14 — 38

Artesia 12 13 13 18 — 56

3-pointers — Clovis, Chavez. Gonzalez 3, Riggs, Crandall, Houghtaling.

Boys

Hobbs 77, Clovis 52

Clovis (7-7) — Dewayne Dawson 3, Jacob Moon 11, Brandon Romero 3, Josiah Lombrana 1, Dominick Urioste 11, Jakeem Wynn 12, Ro Morgan 1, Bryce Cabeldue 10. Totals 17 13-20 52.

Hobbs (10-5 ) — Rae Tarin 10, Davonte Morgan 4, Ramon Cruz 2, Alec Finney 25, Teren Smith 3, Eroz Sotelo 2, Clay Strasner 31. Totals 29 13-20 77.

Clovis 14 12 6 20 — 52

Hobbs 20 16 21 20 — 77

3-pointers — Urioste 2, Dawson, Romero, Wynn. Tarin 2, Finney 2, Smith, Strasner.