Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Sports writer
MELROSE — Had Melrose not left a few points on the court, the Buffaloes might have reached the century mark on Saturday.
They were just 18-of-31 from the free throw line and had only one 3-pointer. But no matter, fourth-seeded Melrose cruised past No. 13 Menaul 89-60 on Saturday in a Class 1A boys round-of-16 game.
The Buffs (17-8) await fifth-seeded Mora (20-8), a 57-52 winner on Saturday over Gateway Christian, in a 3 p.m. quarterfinal game on Wednesday at Bernalillo H.S.
Those teams met on Feb. 14 at Mora, a game the Buffs won 63-59 win two of their starters out.
Junior guard Wyatt Williams led four Melrose players in double figures with a season-best 29 points, one short of a career high set last year against district rival Fort Sumner.
With the score 7-7 midway through the first quarter, the Buffs took command of the game with a 10-0 run and never looked back.
“We got off to a little bit of a slow start, but things eventually started clicking,” Williams said.
Junior forward Braden Hemminger added 14 points, freshman guard Cade Barnard 13 and senior guard Jay Faust 10 for the Buffs, whose roster includes eight freshmen. Twelve players scored for Melrose.
“I’m just proud of these kids,” Melrose coach Jim Doherty said. “They’re the kind of kids that’ll keep me coaching for a while.”
He said it’s been a process for the Buffs, but things are starting to fall into place.
“A couple of years ago we got our butts handed to us, but now it’s all paying off,” Doherty said. “When we play good defense, we’re good.”
Senior guard Davis Byrd led the Albuquerque-based Panthers (16-12) with 25 points, while sophomore guard Samy Porragas added 12.
Williams said the Buffs are anxious to get to Albuquerque and face Mora again.
“It w as a good win when we went up there,” he said.
He believes the Buffs have a decent shot at making a title run, despite their relative youth.
“It’ll be a tough road, but once you get to Albuquerque anything can happen,” he said. “I think we’ve got some good momentum going into it.”
The Buffs reached the quarterfinals last year, beating McCurdy in the round of 16 before losing to Cliff.
Carrizozo 69, Grady 68 — In a Class 1A boys game at Grady, 6-foot-4 senior Josh Ventura scored 37 points — including a game-winning stickback in the closing seconds — as the Grizzlies rallied to eliminate the Bronchos.
Grady (15-12), the No. 8 seed, built an 11-point lead in the second quarter and led most of the way, only to see Carrizozo (20-9) storm back.
Junior Koby Valentine scored 24 points and junior Tucker Northcutt added 21 for Grady. Another junior, Trenton Lee, finished with 12 points.
The Bronchos lost despite going 23-for-25 from the free throw line. Ty Barela added two 3-pointers and 14 points for the Grizzlies, including a 3-pointer after an offensive rebound by Ventura in the final minute to pull Carrizozo to 68-67.
