Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

Tatum boys upend Melrose

MELROSE — Suffice it to say, the Melrose Buffaloes have set a pretty high standard in recent years.

With their quarterfinal win over Floyd in Thursday’s season opener in the Buffs’ American Heritage Bank tournament quarterfinals, Melrose registered its 38th victory in 39 games. Now, though, the Buffs have a sub-.500 record to start this season, and a two-game losing streak after falling 38-36 to Tatum in Friday’s semifinals and 41-38 to Clayton in Saturday’s third-place contest.

Prior to Saturday, Melrose’ last losing streak came in January 2019, when it dropped three consecutive tilts. Since losing to Lubbock Christian during an early-season tournament in 2019-20, the Buffs’ lone setback before Friday came in last spring’s Class 1A state final against Magdalena.

On Saturday, the Yellowjackets (2-1) held Melrose to three second-quarter points to take a two-point halftime lead, then held on during a nip-and-tuck second half.

Junior Rylan Ruf scored 18 points for Clayton, while sophomore Michael Cardonita paced Melrose with 11.

Meantime, Clovis Christian claimed fifth place in the event with a 45-18 pounding of Quemado, and Grady took seventh place with a 50-29 triumph over Floyd.

CCS (2-2) held Quemado to three first-half points in cruising to victory. Juniors Carter Teune and Noah Gershon each scored 16 points for the Eagles, while senior Noah Bugayong tallied 12 for Quemado (1-3).

Grady (1-3) put four players in double figures in its win, led by senior Jordan Verble with 15 points. Meantime, Jax Piepkorn chipped in 12 points and Carlos Marin and Zane Rush scored 10 apiece.

Floyd (0-3) got 10 points from senior Hugo Diaz.

In other area boys tournament games on Saturday:

J.P. Stone Invitational — At Dora, Fort Sumner used a 29-point second stanza to take command and the Foxes (3-0) claimed the championship with an 83-73 win over Elida.

Sophomore Joaquin Segura (34) and juniors Clay Norman (24) and Saul Marquez (12) combined for all but 13 of the Foxes’ points. Fort Sumner trailed by three at the quarter, but led 46-37 at halftime.

High scorers for the Tigers (3-1) were senior Rylan Creighton with 27 points and juniors Jose Jimenez with 18 and Aiden Yates with 14.

In the third-place tilt, host Dora dominated over the final three cantos and registered a 69-48 victory over Dexter.

Junior Steven Masini poured in 33 points for the Coyotes (3-1), while juniors Bryson Paxton and Cache Skelley followed with 13 and nine, respectively. For the Demons (0-3), junior Josh Duran racked up 28 points and junior Justus Sanders chipped in 13.

Vega tournament — Bovina went 1-2 over the weekend in a tournament hosted by Vega. The Mustangs (2-4) lost to Dimmitt 36-16 on Thursday and Dalhart 74-47 on Friday before beating San Jacinto Christian Academy 51-44 on Saturday.

Senior Angel Lara scored 16 points and junior Dustin Delarosa had 12 in the win over San Jacinto. Meantime, Delarosa accounted for 10 of Bovina’s points in the loss to Dimmitt.

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