Wildcats roll past Goddard

ROSWELL — Sophomore guard Bryce Hill knocked down four first-quarter 3-pointers to get the Clovis High boys off to a fast start, and the Wildcats cruised past Roswell Goddard 65-49 on Saturday night.

It was the second win in two nights for the Cats (4-2), who pounded Moriarty 94-62 at Rock Staubus Gym on Friday night, and the second time they’ve beaten the Rockets (4-8) in a week. Clovis beat Goddard 62-45 on Dec. 11 to capture third place in the City of Champions Classic in Artesia.

Hill’s early heroics helped the Cats open a 26-6 lead at the quarter, a margin that went to 40-8 at one point late in the half.

“Bryce Hill got us off to a really good start,” CHS boys coach J.D. Isler said. “All of our kids can shoot, and that’s something we haven’t really had in the past.”

The Cats finished the game with eight 3-pointers. Hill posted a game-high 16 points, while sophomore guard Jason Isler added three 3-pointers and 15 points and junior guard Cody Thornsbury added the other trifecta and finished with 11 points.

Goddard finally got untracked late in the half, closing the margin to 41-22 at the break. The Rockets got within 16 points a couple of times in the third period, but the Cats pulled away again and coasted to the finish.

“We defended really well in the first half,” Coach Isler said. “They (Rockets) made some adjustments and attacked our zone a little better in the second half. They played with a little more confidence.”

About the only thing Isler didn’t find to like was the free throw shooting — the Cats finished just 13-of-23. But Goddard wasn’t much better in that department, going 14-of-23.

The Cats, who got a late basketball start after most of their players participated in the Class 5A state football championship game on Dec. 3, continue a busy early run with two more games this week — Tuesday at Alamogordo and Thursday at home against Lubbock Coronado.

Coach Isler likes the looks of his team at this point.

“We’re starting to jell together,” he said. “We can score from inside and outside. We have a really unselfish team.”