Cleveland holds off Clovis boys

RIO RANCHO — Facing the top team in the state in Class 6A, Clovis High’s boys played well in long stretches on Friday.

It was the bad stretches which got them. Rio Rancho Cleveland finished off a 29-point second quarter with a 7-0 run, then held the Wildcats to six points in the third period in pulling away to a 72-56 victory.

“Playing the No. 1 team in the state, I thought we did some good things,” CHS boys coach Scott Robinson said. “We’re getting better.”

The Cats (4-13) jumped on top 9-1 in the early going, and were still down just 36-31 late in the half. The Storm (16-1) opened a 12-point halftime lead with their late burst, feeding off some Cats turnovers, and built the margin to 58-37 by the end of the third period.

“They really got going in the second quarter,” Robinson said. “We just weren’t good enough defensively in that quarter.

“Turnovers opened the game up (for Cleveland) at the end of the half. We had some turnovers that they turned into baskets.”

Senior guard Ryan Jones had a trio of 3-pointers and finished with 27 points for the Storm, while junior forward Marcus Williams added 24.

Senior guard Tristan Pautler and junior guard Tucker Dobbs scored 15 points apiece for the Cats, combining for five 3-pointers.

Clovis stays in the metro area today for a 5 p.m. tipoff at Atrisco Heritage (9-5).

“They shoot the 3 really well,” Robinson said of the Jaguars. “We’re going to have to do a good job defending the 3-point line.”

Robinson will miss the game to attend the funeral of former Cats coach J.D. Isler, under whom he served as an assistant coach, this afternoon at the high school. Assistant Casey Pack will coach the Cats in his absence.