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Clovis boys host state tourney game for first time since 2013.

Already tired of presidential primaries and sneezing into your elbow?

Need a break after carrying your Mayor Pete and Amy Klobuchar campaign buttons out to the curb?

For a change of pace, a nice diversion from the news, here come the state high school boys basketball playoffs, which tip off this Saturday.

Six local boys teams will begin their state championship quests, highlighted by Clovis’ first state home game in seven years.

Not since 2013 has Rock Staubus Gymnasium been the scene of a boys basketball state playoff game. That all changes on Saturday, beginning at 7 p.m., when the eighth-seeded Wildcats (20-8) host ninth-seeded La Cueva (17-8) in the opening round of state 5A play.

“Your goal is to make your route as easy as possible going into the state playoffs,” Clovis head coach Jaden Isler said. “We did everything we could do to secure a home game. We’re glad to be at home in front of our home crowd and have the advantage and not have to travel. At this point, though, if you don’t play well, home-court advantage doesn’t matter.

“But I’m excited for the Clovis fans; it’s been a long time since they’ve had a state tournament game. It’s exciting for the community.”

And the Wildcats are hoping that community provides them with a packed, rocking gym on Saturday night.

Tickets for the first-round game are $10 for students, $5 for students/active or retired military/senior citizens and free for children 5 and under.

Reserved seat ticket holders can sit in their seat for $15 ($10 admission, $5 for reserved seat).

No passes, including staff and student IDS or student activity tickets, are valid for tournament games.

Advance ticket sales will run 1:30 p.m. Wednesday through noon Friday at the Clovis High athletics office.

Clovis earned the first-round home contest by edging Hobbs, 67-65, in last Saturday night’s District 4-5A championship game at Hobbs High School. It was the second straight year the Wildcats won a district title by beating Hobbs on the road.

Also a newly-minted repeat district champion is Melrose, after routing Fort Sumner 64-36 at home in last Saturday night’s District 6-1A championship game. Last year’s Buffaloes topped Fort Sumner to win the district title, but had to do so on the road in double overtime. So it was a bit easier for them this year.

Melrose is the local team with the best record, coming into the tournament as a 25-1 top seed. This Saturday, the Buffaloes begin their quest for a third consecutive state title when they host 16th-seeded Dora (13-13) at 6 p.m. The Buffaloes and Coyotes met on Dec. 19 at Dora High School, with Melrose winning 62-34.

The Buffaloes now hope to win the rematch as well, get the first of four wins necessary for them to earn their third consecutive state championship.

“It’s just on to the next game and try to play the best that we possibly can,” Melrose head coach Kevin Lackey said. “From here on out it’s win and move on, or lose and you go home. So this time of year, we should be prepared, we should be ready. But you never know what’s going to happen. … You’ve just got to try to do everything you can to be prepared to play smart, play hard, execute defensively and offensively, and hope that it’s enough in the end.”

“We’re playing good, we’ve just got to keep it up,” Melrose senior Tristan Sena said. “We can’t come into the first round and just kind of play lax; we’ve got to get better every game. We can’t take a game off. We’ve got to play every game, play every play … and become the best team we can be in the state tournament.”

Other locals competing in the tournament are Texico (15-9), the seventh seed in 2A; Elida (21-7), seeded seventh in 1A; District 6-1A runner-up Fort Sumner (15-12), the sixth seed in 1A; and Grady/San Jon/House (12-11), 1A’s eighth seed.

The Wolverines open with a matinee, hosting 10th-seeded Navajo Pine (20-9) at 2 p.m. Saturday. The winner gets either second-seeded Magdalena or 15th seed McCurdy next Wednesday morning (11:30 a.m.) at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho.

Texico has the advantage of playing in the bracket opposite of top seed Pecos, the team that has beaten the Wolverines twice this season, the program that has eliminated Texico from states in each of the past three seasons. This year, a Texico/Pecos state-tournament matchup would occur only in the 2A championship game, as it did two seasons ago.

Elida hosts 10th-seeded Logan (15-13) this Saturday at 6 p.m., the same day and time Fort Sumner hosts 11th-seeded Mountainair (17-10). Grady/San Jon/House is also home Saturday, facing ninth-seeded Quemado (19-8) at 2 p.m.

The Elida/Logan winner plays either second-seeded Maxwell or 15th seed New Mexico School for the Deaf, beginning 1:15 p.m. next Wednesday at Bernalillo High School. The Fort Sumner/Mountainair winner faces either third-seeded Tatum or 14th seed Jemez Valley earlier that day (9:45 a.m.) at Bernalillo.

If Grady/San Jon/House prevails against Quemado, it’s on to play the Melrose/Dora winner next Wednesday at Bernalillo, tipping off at 4:45 p.m.

Portales’ boys did not make the 4A field — the first time the Rams have missed the playoffs since seeding began. The Rams were on the bubble, but saw their fate sealed when Lovington and Santa Teresa won district tournament games to earn automatic berths.

Clovis heads into states with a bit of momentum after winning close district tournament games against Roswell (44-43) and Hobbs (67-65), which Isler thinks could serve the Wildcats well as they push forward into the state playoffs.

“You always want to win those games,” he said. “All state tournament games are going to have huge crowds. That’s a great way to prepare to go into the state tournament. … We feel like we can win big games and we can win tough games. We’ve proven that over the last couple of weeks. We’re going to try to continue to do that. … Every game in the state tournament, it doesn’t matter the seeding, every team is really good at that point. You’ve got to know how to win under pressure, and I feel like our team has had to do that throughout the year and has come out on top most of the time. Our whole season has kind of prepared us for this, which is what we wanted.”

Isler’s Wildcats will face a La Cueva team they nipped 63-62 in Albuquerque on Dec. 7, in just their second game of the season. Beating the Bears twice – even with the second time at home – will not be easy. As Isler notes, La Cueva can be even better than its 17 wins indicate when 6-5, 190-pound star swingman Derek Aeilts is on the floor. Aeilts has played in 17 of the Bears’ 25 games this season, averaging 14.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per contest.

“They played part of the year without one of their best players,” Isler said, “which is why, I think, they’re seeded so low. It’s a tough draw for us. They’re a lot better than their ranking. They’re playing really well right now and they’re fully healthy.”

La Cueva is also a district champion, winning District 2/5A with a 7-1 record, a game up on Eldorado. The Bears, Isler says, are as good as that record indicates, a program built for success.

“Coach (Frank) Castillo has been the coach at La Cueva for a long time,” Isler said. “He’s won state championships in this class. He always has his teams prepared. They’ve got a lot of size, they have long athletic guards, they have a good big. So they’re very well-balanced. They shoot the three well and they can play well inside. They’ve got pieces everywhere.”

Saturday’s La Cueva/Clovis winner moves on to The Pit in Albuquerque next Wednesday to face either top-seeded Las Cruces or 16th seed Gadsden, in a 9:45 a.m. game.

To get there, Clovis must get past that dangerous La Cueva team. How do the Wildcats accomplish that?

“At this point in the season you do what you do really well,” Isler said. “Obviously we’ll make adjustments from watching the film from some of the more recent games, but you’ve got to do what’s gotten you to this point. We’re going to stay true to our identity. In playoff basketball, there are a whole lot of adjustments that go on in the game. It’s a question of making the adjustments at the right time and our kids making plays.”

For Melrose, making enough plays could lead to a state championship three-peat.

“It’d be big,” Buffaloes senior Dylan Valentine said. “It’d be one of my biggest dreams realized.”

 
 
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