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Articles written by Dave Wagner - Staff Writer


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  • Greyhound depth keys win

    Dave Wagner - Staff Writer|Updated Jan 22, 2022

    PORTALES - Playing a team missing half (eight) of its roster and its coach, mostly due to COVID-19 protocols, it took Eastern New Mexico University's women a while to get a handle on things Thursday night at Greyhound Arena. In the end, ENMU's depth made the difference and the Greyhounds pulled away to a 77-61 Lone Star Conference victory over St. Mary's. Senior guard Iyanna McCurdy was on pace for a triple-double at halftime - 10 points, nine rebounds and five assists - in...

  • Clovis takes tourney

    Dave Wagner - Staff Writer|Updated Dec 24, 2021

    CLOVIS — It’s been a while since Clovis High’s girls have won their own holiday tournament. It’s also been a while since the Lady Wildcats had a player score more than 30 points in a game. Both happened on Wednesday night at The Rock, where CHS overcame an early eight-point deficit to beat Organ Mountain 77-63 in the finals of the Plateau Holiday tournament. Senior guard Yvonne Fuerte erupted for 31 points — including 20 in the second half — and the Lady Cats (10-3) fini...

  • Clovis boys get into win column

    Dave Wagner - Staff Writer|Updated Dec 24, 2021

    CLOVIS — First, Brian Weiss went off. Then, Juan Hernandez took the reigns. Both players recorded personal scoring bests on Monday night as Clovis High’s boys broke through for their first win of the season, a 67-43 victory over Roswell High in the fifth-place game of the L&L Pallet Holiday tournament at Rock Staubus Gym. Weiss, a senior guard, scored 14 of his game-high 24 points in a 14-4 run over the final five-plus minutes of the second period, giving the Cats (1-9) a 27-...

  • Hoops career still strong for Williams

    Dave Wagner - Staff Writer|Updated Dec 24, 2021

    CLOVIS — Three years after completing a four-year run in big-time college basketball and seven years removed from helping Clovis High’s girls to a strong four-year run of their own, Danni Williams finds herself a long ways from home — and enjoying it. Williams has played professionally in five countries since finishing her eligibility at the University of Texas in 2019. Currently, she’s been able to spend about a week in Clovis after completing the first half of the season...

  • ENMU rallies for win

    Dave Wagner - Staff Writer|Updated Dec 7, 2021

    CLOVIS - To University of the Southwest, it was an exhibition game. To Eastern New Mexico University's men, it was a chance to get back to the .500 mark. It took a while, but the Greyhounds finally wore down the depth-thin Mustangs in the second half and claimed a hard-fought 77-70 victory over USW on Saturday afternoon at Rock Staubus Gym. Four players reached double figures for the Greyhounds (4-4), including freshman guard Sebastian Jimenez, who delivered all 10 of his...

  • Hawks dominant in win over Wildcats

    Dave Wagner - Staff Writer|Updated Dec 7, 2021

    CLOVIS - The bad news is that Clovis High's boys essentially had no chance against Volcano Vista on Saturday night at The Rock. The good news? The Wildcats may not see many teams as deep and talented as the Hawks the rest of the way. Dominating from inside and outside, Volcano Vista roared to a 25-3 lead at the quarter and cruised to a 74-34 victory in the Cats' season opener. Senior guard Oscar McCoy had five of the Hawks' 12 3-point baskets and finished with a game-high 18...

  • Cats keep cutting it close

    Dave Wagner - Staff Writer|Updated Apr 13, 2021

    CLOVIS - Clovis High boys basketball coach Jaden Isler says he isn't surprised his team is having trouble stretching leads in the early going this season. The Wildcats had a pair of overtime wins, including one in double OT, and a one-point loss in their first four games. Saturday, they opened a 15-point lead just before halftime and still led by 13 entering the final quarter before finally claiming a 53-44 victory over Portales at The Rock. Junior guard Elijah Garcia scored 1...

  • Ram girls keep rolling

    Dave Wagner - Staff Writer|Updated Apr 13, 2021

    PORTALES - Clovis High's girls appear to be making progress this season, but the Lady Wildcats aren't good enough to spot a team like Portales eight points right out of the gate. CHS managed only a pair of 3-pointers in falling behind 20-6 early in the second quarter on Saturday night. In addition, the Lady Cats lost 6-foot senior post Hanna Nussbaumer, their leading scorer and rebounder, for the rest of the half after she committed two fouls in just over three minutes. Meanti...

  • Wildcats set to hold court

    Dave Wagner - Staff Writer|Updated Apr 13, 2021

    CLOVIS — Clovis High girls tennis coach Jeannette Albin is returning a relatively experienced squad as the Lady Wildcats prepare to host New Mexico Military in a season-opening dual at 3 p.m. on Thursday at the CHS courts. Seven of the team’s 11 players return from last spring, although that season was abruptly cut short in early March by the coronavirus pandemic. “I’m real proud of these kids,” Albin said. “They’ve been working hard and improving a lot.” While Albin is pretty much set with her lineup, boys coach Brad Heat...

  • Rams top Sartans in defensive battle

    Dave Wagner - Staff Writer|Updated Apr 6, 2021

    PORTALES — Hagen Rains didn’t know whether or not he’d be needed at quarterback on Saturday, but he was ready. Portales High senior QB Baylor Diaz gave it a go on a bum ankle, but came out in the second quarter. Rains stepped in and led the Rams on a 14-play, 80-yard drive for the game’s only score, which he got early in the fourth quarter as PHS held on for a 6-0 win over St. Pius in a New Mexico Activities Association-sponsored “bowl game” at Greyhound Stadium. “I didn’t kno...

  • Area roundup: Clovis Christian topples Elida

    Dave Wagner - Staff writer|Updated Mar 9, 2021

    CLOVIS - Elida has been successful after restarting its football program three years ago, earning trips to the state 6-man finals each of the past two seasons. Meantime, Clovis Christian made its return to the sport on Saturday after a five-year hiatus and served notice it might be a team to be reckoned with, posting a season-opening 22-12 victory over the Tigers at Jim Hill Field. Junior running back Noah Ashford rambled for 155 yards and a touchdown while senior Kane Duong...

  • Prep teams looking forward to full practices this week

    Dave Wagner - Staff writer|Updated Feb 20, 2021

    CLOVIS — Finally, with some improvement in the coronavirus pandemic situation across the state, New Mexico High School sports, circa 2020-21, is ready to make its belated debut this week. Full-team practice sessions for football, volleyball and cross country are slated to begin on Monday, with boys and girls soccer to follow later in the week. The New Mexico Activities Association and its member schools have been waiting patiently through a myriad of changes and delays authored by the state through Gov. Michelle Lujan G...

  • Elida, Melrose boys advance

    Dave Wagner - Staff Writer|Updated Mar 10, 2020

    ELIDA — It’s been a special season for the Elida boys basketball team, and the Tigers aren’t ready to see it end just yet. Especially senior guard Tyce Delk. Delk scored 17 of Elida’s 23 first-half points and finished with 29 on Saturday as the Tigers downed Logan 61-41 in a Class 1A state round-of-16 matchup. “He’s playing well at the right time,” Elida boys coach Jared Fraze said. “He’s had some unbelievable games after the EPAC (tournament in January).” Only a few years removed from not being able to field a boys team,...

  • Rams spike Vikings in 4A opener

    Dave Wagner - Staff Writer|Updated Mar 7, 2020

    PORTALES — For the season, Valley’s girls shoot about 29 percent from 3-point range. That doesn’t mean the Vikings couldn’t get hot on a given night, and Portales High wasn’t about to take that chance in Friday’s Class 4A state round-of-16 matchup. The Lady Rams limited Valley to six 3-pointers — four coming in the final quarter when the game was all but out of reach — en route to a 60-47 victory over the 14th-seeded Vikings at the Ram Athletic Center. Sophomore forwa...

  • Portales says Valley no easy out

    Dave Wagner - Staff writer|Updated Mar 3, 2020

    PORTALES — If nothing else, the Valley Vikings figure to be a bit out of their element in Friday’s 6 p.m. Class 4A round-of-16 girls state tournament game against Portales High at the Ram Athletic Center — it’s the first time in 29 games that they’ll be playing outside the Albuquerque metro area. The next step for the third-seeded Lady Rams (20-7) is to make the Vikings uncomfortable at what they like to do, which is shooting 3-pointers. PHS girls coach Wade Fraze said Valley (17-11) is a scary No. 14 seed. “They may be the...

  • Portales repeats in 4-4A

    Dave Wagner - Staff writer|Updated Feb 29, 2020

    PORTALES — An early lead against a capable opponent can sure come in handy sometimes. Portales High’s girls got just that on Friday, scoring 13 consecutive points after Roswell Goddard tallied the game’s first basket and going on to a 57-45 win over the turnover-prone Lady Rockets in the District 4-4A tournament championship game at the Ram Athletic Center. Sophomore forward Kylyie Paden had seven points in the early run, and the Lady Rams (20-7) were able to keep Godda...

  • ENMU women wrap up No. 5 seed

    Dave Wagner - Staff writer|Updated Feb 29, 2020

    PORTALES — Sophomore guard Zamorye Cox led four players in double figures with 16 points, and Eastern New Mexico University’s women subdued Midwestern State 77-60 on Saturday at Greyhound Arena to lock up the No. 5 seed in next week’s Lone Star Conference tournament. ENMU (20-8, 14-8 LSC) will open the tournament on Tuesday with a 6 p.m. game against 12th-seeded Oklahoma Christian. The final three rounds of the event will be played Thursday through Sunday in Frisco, Texas. ENMU finished in a tie with Angelo State for fifth...

  • Lovington shocks Portales in 4-4A opener

    Dave Wagner - Staff Writer|Updated Feb 29, 2020

    PORTALES — Rickie McBroom was at a bit of a loss for words. In a game where his Portales High boys squad led most of the way, including by 15 points in the second quarter, things got away late and the Rams dropped a 60-58 decision to Lovington on Tuesday night in the opening game of the District 4-4A tournament at the Ram Athletic Center. With the contest tied in the closing seconds, the Rams appeared to secure a defensive rebound with time to advance it, but Lovington senior guard Chris Perez poked the ball loose and c...

  • Postseason push comes for Hounds

    Dave Wagner - Staff writer|Updated Feb 25, 2020

    PORTALES — It’s coming down to the final weekend of the regular season in Lone Star Conference basketball, and both Eastern New Mexico University squads have something on the line. The women, currently locked in a three-way tie for fifth in the 18-team league, need some help to be able to move up to the top four and earn a first-round bye in next week’s LSC tournament. Meantime, the men are in tight contention to earn one of the last berths in the 12-team event. The Greyh...

  • See you again soon

    Dave Wagner - Staff Writer|Updated Feb 22, 2020

    CLOVIS — Will the real Clovis High girls basketball team please stand up? Is it the one which shot 2-for-26 from the field in the first half of Friday’s District 4-5A matchup against Roswell High at Rock Staubus Gym? Or is it the one which hit its first five shots, including four 3-pointers, when play resumed in the third quarter. Down 15-14 at the break, the Lady Wildcats put together a 41-point second half and turned back the Lady Coyotes 55-48 behind a personal-best 22 poi...

  • Rams stay in 4-5A hunt

    Dave Wagner - Staff Writer|Updated Feb 18, 2020

    PORTALES — By winning twice at home over the weekend, the Portales High boys basketball team has given itself a chance to still earn the No. 1 seed in the upcoming District 4-4A tournament. It’s a long shot, especially when you drop the first two of six games, but the Rams at least have a chance. Junior Kenevan Bailey scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds on Saturday as PHS pulled away in the final three minutes to beat Lovington 58-48 at the Ram Athletic Center, the...

  • Portales girls find rhythm, top Lovington

    Dave Wagner - Staff Writer|Updated Feb 18, 2020

    PORTALES — After fighting for their lives at times down the stretch in Friday’s 64-57 win over Roswell Goddard, Portales High’s girls found things a little calmer on Saturday. Not that it was easy, but the stress level was ratcheted down a notch in the Lady Rams’ 45-36 District 4-4A win over rival Lovington at the Ram Athletic Center, a makeup of a recent snowout. In Friday’s game, Goddard harassed PHS into probably a faster pace than it likes, and it took a lot of energy to stave off the Lady Rockets after they cut a 20-poin...

  • Portales girls stay perfect in district

    Dave Wagner - Staff writer|Updated Feb 15, 2020

    PORTALES — Things came pretty easily for a long time for Portales High’s girls in Friday night’s District 4-4A matchup against Roswell Goddard at the Ram Athletic Center. PHS came out playing aggressive defense and flustered the Lady Rockets with fullcourt pressure, taking a 16-2 lead late in the first quarter. Then Goddard decided to return the favor. Trailing 45-25 with three minutes left in the third frame, the Lady Rockets gave Portales some of its own medicine. In a wild game which saw the Lady Rams lose starting guard...

  • Late Ram rally secures win over Goddard

    Dave Wagner - Staff writer|Updated Feb 15, 2020

    PORTALES — Even though Portales High’s boys led wire-to-wire on Friday night, the game wasn’t decided until late. Junior post Kenevan Bailey came up with back-to-back putbacks after Roswell Goddard had closed a double-figure deficit to three points, and the Rams went on a late 9-0 run for a 69-59 District 4-4A win at the Ram Athletic Center. Bailey finished with a double-double — 15 points, 11 rebounds — as the Rams broke through with their first district triumph. Portales (9-14, 1-2 district) hoped to build on the win when i...

  • Artesia size proves troubling for Rams

    Dave Wagner - Staff Writer|Updated Feb 8, 2020

    PORTALES — The Artesia boys basketball roster lists five players at 6-foot-3 or taller, four of whom started. Meantime, Portales has just one. The size differential was a key factor as the Bulldogs captured Friday’s District 4-4A matchup over PHS 67-59 at the Ram Athletic Center. Six-foot-4 junior guard Tucker Smotherman had five of Artesia’s six 3-pointers and finished with 17 points, while 6-6 senior post Cole Kincaid added 15 points and harassed the Rams’ attempts at penetration with several blocked shots. Portale...

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