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ALBUQUERQUE — Another night of drama for the Clovis boys basketball team.
After a heartbreaking season-opening loss to Cleveland last Friday at Rock Staubus Gymnasium, the Wildcats turned right around and headed to Albuquerque on Saturday morning, then edged La Cueva 63-62 in overtime that night.
The ’Cats evened their record at 1-1, each game determined at the foul line in the closing seconds. In Saturday’s overtime period, senior guard Malik Phillips stepped to the free-throw line with two seconds left and the game tied at 62. Phillips missed the first attempt, meaning the next one would either just about secure the Wildcats’ first victory of the season or send the game into a second overtime.
Phillips dribbled, he eyed the basket, he lofted the shot.
And it went in.
La Cueva had little time to do anything after that, and Clovis prevailed for the one-point victory. 24 hours after falling 60-59 to Cleveland, shooting 3-of-19 (16 percent) from the line and 0-for-2 from there with 2.7 seconds left, the ’Cats had done just enough from the stripe to get a big win against the Bears.
“I’m proud of how our kids competed,” Clovis head coach Jaden Isler said, “especially after riding that far the following morning. And La Cueva’s never an easy place to play. Coach (Frank) Castillo’s been there for a long time; they’re always well-coached. It was a great win all the way around for us. We needed it.”
With Saturday’s game knotted at 62, La Cueva tried to dribble into traffic and had the ball knocked away, over to Clovis, with five seconds to go. As those seconds ticked away, Phillips had the ball with some floor in front of him for what appeared to be an open layup. A La Cueva defender bumped into Phillips, sending the latter to the foul line because Clovis was in the double bonus.
Another nerve-racking foul-shooting situation for the Wildcats. But Phillips came through on that momentous second attempt.
“We found a way to put them in in the second game,” Isler said.
And foul-shooting can be a determining factor in District 4-5A as well as state tournament games, which promise to be closely contested. “So the more situations we’re in like that the better,” Isler said.
Had Phillips missed the second free throw, it would’ve marked the fifth straight period that ended with Saturday’s game tied. All four regulation quarters had ended that way, including the fourth, which concluded in a 57-all tie.
“I’ve been in a lot of overtime games,” Isler said, “but that’s kind of a weird stat.”
Even during those quarters, Saturday’s game was close, with neither team ever taking more than a seven-point lead. It was indicative of how close the 5A competition is, of how close the good 5A teams are, of how important these games are, even in the first half of December.
“And it doesn’t get any easier,” Isler said.
It certainly won’t this week when the Wildcats return to Albuquerque for the Joe Armijo Classic, which tips off Thursday morning. After their breakfast the Wildcats face an 8 a.m. game against Volcano Vista, the only team to beat them at Rock Staubus Gymnasium last year, and the team that is ranked No. 1 in this week’s polls.
Win or lose Thursday, Clovis is going to move on to play either Las Cruces, ranked second in 5A, or Hope Christian, second in 4A.
“And if we get to the final,” Isler said, “Atrisco Heritage is the top team in the bracket.”
Adding another carrot to the stew will be the limited availabity of senior center Bryce Cabeldue, who led Clovis in scoring against both Cleveland (16 points) and La Cueva (24). Cabeldue, a lineman who Monday was announced as a first-team All-State football selection, has an official college visit this weekend. So after bringing his 6-6, 245-pound post presence and 20-point scoring average into Thursday morning’s Volcano Vista game, Cabeldue will have to fly out to his visit and miss the remainder of the tournament.
It will be tough for Clovis to face those teams on Friday and Saturday without Cabeldue, but Isler says he will use his center’s absence to tinker.
“We’re going to have to adjust our lineup,” Isler said. “We just have to be more guard-oriented. We’ve got guys that can really shoot it and can get to the basket. It will give us the opportunity to play with different people at different positions. ... This early in the season it’s not a bad thing.”
It should be a chance to get some more work for 6-1 senior forward Ethan Gershon, who missed last Friday’s season opener because he was returning from injury and hadn’t had the necessary practices in, but played roughly 12 minutes Saturday at La Cueva.
“We’re trying to work him back in the lineup some,” Isler said, “and we’ll play around with some smaller lineups. ... (Gershon) finishes well around the basket, so we try to use him to create mismatches.”
If Clovis is able to get a win or two out of the Armijo Tournament, it will be pretty successful, considering the competition. If the Wildcats are able to win it, that would speak even louder volumes.
“Playing these teams early is just going to help us down the road,” Isler said. “We’re going to do our best to win every one of them.”