Texico boys rout Laguna-Acoma, go to 9-0

TEXICO — Texico’s boys basketball team is off to a great start in its holiday tournament. To say the least.

The Wolverines jumped far ahead early and stayed in full command, going on to rout Laguna-Acoma 80-20 Thursday night at Texico High School.

The Wolverines improved to 9-0 on the season as they head to the second round. There they’ll face Newcombe, a team that drove seven hours to play them.

Texico will enter tonight’s game undefeated thanks to a thoroughly dominant effort against a scrappy Laguna-Acoma team, building a staggering 33-4 lead after one quarter.

By halftime, the Wolves were ahead 55-13. By the third quarter’s end, it was a 74-15 game.

“Even though the score was as ugly as it was ... (Laguna-Acoma) kept playing,” Texico head coach Ty Thatcher said. “They definitely showed a lot of heart. I thought their kids played extremely hard to the end. They are a young team. The difference in age, and the difference in experience and size, helped us tonight.”

Thatcher says Laguna-Acoma’s best days are ahead. “I think they’ll get better as the year goes on,” he said. “I think their record doesn’t show how good they could be.”

Texico’s record certainly shows it.

“I give credit to the team in general for having their heads up and seeing the floor in general,” Thatcher said of his Wolverines.

Texico point guard Dalton Thatcher led all scorers with 15 points.

Cayd Billbrey and Paden McDermid added 11 points each for the Wolves, who hit 31 field goals and went 14-of-18 (78 percent) from the foul line.

Texico looks for its 10th win in 10 tries tonight, but might have a tussle with Newcombe.

“They’re an undersized team,” Coach Thatcher said. “They’ve got a lot more experience (than Laguna-Acoma), though. I anticipate a good game.”