Melrose gets top seed, Floyd-Dora winner

MELROSE — What’s in a number?

Not a whole lot, when it comes to seeding for this week’s EPAC basketball tournament, says Melrose girls coach Caleb King.

“It’s the first time we’ve been the (No.) 1 seed since I’ve been at Melrose,” said King, whose Lady Buffs (8-1) earned that honor for the 10-school event which begins today at Melrose.

“It’s a privilege to get that, but you’re going to have to play three good games to win it. We just have to take it one game at a time.”

The top two seeds have first-round byes, with the other eight matching up today. The Lady Buffs, who last won the event in 2015, will face either seventh-seeded Dora or No. 10 Floyd in a second-round game on Thursday.

The tournament moves on to Eastern New Mexico University’s Greyhound Arena in Portales for games on Friday and Saturday.

Melrose’s District 6-1A rivals, Logan (9-3) and Fort Sumner (8-3), are seeded right behind the Lady Buffs, while four-time defending champion Texico (4-5) earned the No. 4 spot.

Despite their record, King said the Class 2A Lady Wolverines are still a team to be reckoned with, noting they’ve played a challenging schedule.

“They could play us in the semifinals (on Friday at ENMU),” he said. “Coach Luscombe’s teams will always be disciplined.”

The Lady Wolverines, meantime, have an interesting first-round matchup at 6 p.m. today against improving Clovis Christian (7-4), which is seeded fifth.

“There’s four pretty good teams there,” Texico girls coach Richard Luscombe said. “I think those three — Melrose, Logan and Fort Sumner — are probably the top three teams in (Class 1A).”

Texico is coming off a 58-31 victory at Jal on Saturday in which senior Ashley Hill scored a personal-best 34 points.

Luscombe said his team has been trying to battle through injuries this season. “That’s probably reflective of our record,” he said.

Texico has three players out with injury, Luscombe said, although he’s hoping junior forward Riley Rohrbach could return this week. Rohrbach suffered a dislocated kneecap in the second game of the season, a 41-40 home loss to Fort Sumner.

CCS already has more wins this season than it did in all of 2018-19 (5-17). Kenny Duong, a 2012 CCS grad, went from assistant to head coach this season and has been pleased with the Lady Eagles’ progress.

“We just have to come out and compete,” said Duong, whose squad is also a member of District 6-1A. “Texico may be having a down year, but they’ve been strong for a while.

“I think if we play our game and stay on our toes defensively, we can beat them. I don’t think there’s any team that’s unbeatable out there.”

Duong said he knew his team had potential.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a surprise,” he said of the Lady Eagles’ record. “I knew we had talent, but I don’t think we’ve reached our full potential yet.”

Luscombe said he doesn’t anticipate CCS will be a pushover.

“They’re really athletic,” he said. “They get the ball up and down the floor, and they shoot the ball well.

“If we don’t come out and get ready to play, they’re a dangerous team.”

Duong said the top three seeds will be formidable.

“Melrose, Logan an Fort Sumner have all been playing real well,” he said. “They’re the teams with targets on their back, but they’re the teams to beat.”

Girls semifinals are set for 4 and 7:30 p.m. on Friday, with the championship game at 6 p.m. on Saturday.