Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Wildcats out after 86-55 setback
LAS CRUCES — Second-seeded Las Cruces High wasted no time taking control of Saturday’s Class 6A boys state round-of-16 matchup.
Clovis High was within 8-7 before the Bulldawgs ran off 12 unanswered points en route to an 86-55 victory, and they never looked back.
“They just got on a little run,” CHS coach Scott Robinson said. “It’s as simple as they hit some shots, hit some 3s. Defensive coverage got away from us there.”
Cruces (25-4) gradually stretched its margin from there, although the Cats (12-16) managed to play the Bulldawgs relatively even after their slow start.
Three players scored in double figures for the Bulldawgs, including junior guard Markus Collins with four 3-pointers and 17 points, junior forward Vincente Johnson with 14 and junior guard Alanso Johnson with three 3s and 11.
For the Cats, senior guard Taitt Kuchta had all three of the team’s 3-pointers and finished with 17 points, while junior guard Jakeem Wynn scored 16.
Cruces rode a 31-18 edge in field goals, including 7-3 on 3-pointers. Free throws were nearly identical — 16-for-21 for the Cats, 17-for-21 for Cruces.
Robinson said he was pleased his team continued to plug away after the rough start.
“I was proud of our effort,” he said. “Our kids continued to play and fight.”
Clovis was coming off consecutive years of three and five wins before flirting with the .500 mark this season. They went 5-5 in their first season in District 2-6A.
The Wildcats clearly aren’t back among the 6A elite, but there are plenty of reasons to believe they’re turning the corner.
Clovis won more games this season (12) than its previous two combined (8). The Wildcats lose four seniors, but only two are starters, and the Clovis freshman team went 23-0 this season.
“We took some big strides this year,” Robinson said. “We got back to the state tournament. There are lots of positive things to build on next season.”
Ironically, the Wildcats’ last state tournament appearance came four years ago when they advanced to the 6A championship game, only to lose to the Bulldawgs.
