Bunton burns Levelland

LEVELLAND, Texas — Senior post Tigg Bunton scored a career-high 39 points as the Clovis remained undefeated Monday with a 76-66 win over Levelland.

Clovis coach J.D. Isler said the Lobo defenders played in between Bunton and the basket, allowing the Wildcat guards to constantly feed the 6-foot-8 center the ball.

“I’m not sure why they did that,” Isler said.

“They just couldn’t handle him,” Isler said. “He scored every single time inside, almost.”

Bunton’s high this season was 23 points in the opener.

Isler said the Wildcats (7-0) dealt well with early foul trouble in the post, which led to a nine more foul shots for the Lobos. Bunton, senior Dominique Easterlin and junior Devin Sweet each had three fouls at halftime. Easterlin scored all his 10 points in the first half.

“It seemed like we couldn’t keep them off the free-throw line,” Isler said. “Things weren’t really going our way and our kids showed a lot of composure.”

Junior Chris Finch came in and spotted the Cats minutes with Bunton resting and Easterlin sitting with fouls.

Isler said the Cats can’t afford to commit so many fouls, but he doesn’t want them to sacrifice aggression, either.

“We’re just going to have to a better job of keeping our bodies off of them,” he said.

The Class 3A Lobos (8-9) were 13 of 23 from the free-throw line.

Levelland was patient in waiting for good shots, according to Isler. The Lobos hit five 3-pointers on the night.

“They made us work every possession,” he said.

Bunton and Easterlin were the only double figure scorers for the Wildcats, who host Alamogordo at 7 p.m. tonight to cap their pre-Christmas schedule.

Isler said the Tigers are an uptempo team that likes to spread opposing defenses and penetrate.

“We’re going to have to do a much better job defending the perimeter,” Isler said.

Clovis 76, Levelland 66

Clovis (7-0) — Tigg Bunton 39, Dominique Easterlin 10, Tizrick Phillips 2, Devin Sweet 9, Elliott Hita 4, Jacob Jones 2, John Props 4, Jaden Isler 4, Chris Finch 2.

Levelland (8-9) — Young 19, Turner 10, Morris 9, Munoz 7, Myatt 6, Rose 4, Wade 4, Dorron 2, Joyce 2, Avery 1

Clovis 19 20 17 20 — 76

Levelland 13 17 18 18 — 66

3-pointers — Clovis, Easterlin 2. Levelland 5.

JV — Levelland, 60-55