Wolverines, Buffs advance to boys semis

MELROSE – Texico and Melrose advanced to the semifinal round on the boys side while Texico and Logan did the same on the girls' side Thursday in the EPAC basketball tournament.

In boys tilts on Thursday:

Texico 64, Grady 37 – The sixth-seeded Broncos kept the game competitive for the better part of three quarters, but the Wolverines stepped up their defensive pressure and pulled away after forcing 17 Grady turnovers in the second half.

Four players scored in double digits for Texico (8-5) – senior Cade Figg with 16 points, junior Alex Fuentes with 11 and senior Daltyn Cain and junior Steen North with 10 apiece. For the Bronchos (4-5), senior Zane Rush led the way with 18 points while freshman Zander Ciancio added nine.

Melrose 61, Dora 16 – The third-seeded host Buffaloes were in control from the get-go against No. 6 Dora (6-4).

Sophomore Jaxon Odom had 16 points and junior Chance Brittenum 10 for Melrose (11-1). Freshman Timmy Neal had four points for the Coyotes.

For the girls on Thursday:

Texico 52, Dora 43 – The Lady Coyotes pushed Texico for much of the game, but the Lady Wolverines rode a 16-8 start in the first quarter to victory.

Senior Desiree Holman scored 10 points for fourth-seeded Texico (5-7), while senior Sonia Ortiz hit a pair of second-quarter 3-pointers and finished with 10 points. Senior Faith Jasso led all scorers with 19 points for Dora (5-4), the fifth seed.

Logan 68, Grady 42 – Senior Camryn Cantrell led three players in double digits with 20 points and the third-seeded Lady Longhorns (9-4) cruised into the semifinal round.

Sophomore Desta Rose added 16 points and junior Marilyn Moreno had 10 for Logan. Senior Taylor Foote tallied 13 points for Grady (5-5), while senior December Garza and junior Juanita Martinez pumped in nine apiece.

In Wednesday's boys quarterfinals:

Fort Sumner 79, Elida 35 – The No. 2-seeded Foxes got hit in the mouth early when Elida jumped to a 7-0 lead in just over a minute, with senior Seth Jimenez scoring five of them, including a game-opening 3-pointer.

Fort Sumner (10-2) quickly righted the ship, though, scoring the next 21 points with freshman Tra'von Bonds (9), 6-foot-7 senior Cash Burney (7) and freshman Jordan Holland (5) doing all the damage. By the end of the frame, it was 31-13.

Bonds posted six 3-pointers and 22 points – 20 coming in the first half – while Burney scored 20, Holland 18 and freshman Aaron Torres 12. The starters combined for all but two of Fort Sumner's points.

Jimenez finished with three 3s and 11 points for the seventh-seeded Tigers (4-8).

Logan 72, Floyd 24 – The top-seeded Longhorns improved to 13-0, building an 11-point lead at the quarter and limiting the No. 8 Broncos (4-5) to just 13 points the rest of the way.

Sophomore Mason Wallin tallied 20 points and senior Kaeden Stoner added 13 for Logan, including eight each during a 23-6 second-quarter run. High scorers for Floyd were sophomore David Melendez with six points and senior Benton Cain with five.

In Wednesday's girls matchups:

Fort Sumner 58, Elida 30 – The Lady Tigers were within 13 points midway through the third quarter before the second-seeded Vixens (9-3) began to put some serious distance between the teams.

Junior Emmarie Casaus tallied 22 points for Fort Sumner, while juniors Brooke Layton and Allyssa Casaus – Emmarie's cousin – added 15 and 10, respectively. For seventh-seeded Elida (7-6), freshman Kembri Norman provided 14 points.

Melrose 64, Floyd 18 – The top-seeded Lady Buffs (10-2) made short work of their opening-round tilt, riding 15 points from senior Graci Odom and 11 from senior Karlee Elliott. Odom scored 13 points over the middle two stanzas while Elliott got all of hers in the first half.

Senior Jona Baros had six points and junior Nevaeha Brown added five for the eighth-seeded Lady Broncos (1-7).