Wildcats roll over El Paso-Austin in Artesia

The Clovis boys basketball team got what they needed Thursday night as they blew out El Paso Austin 68-26 in the first round of the 2004 Artesia City of Champions Classic.

The game was never close as Clovis (3-0) built a 17-4 lead after the first quarter. Seniors Tigg Bunton and Dominique Easterlin led the ’Cats with 19 and 15 points, respectively.

Jonathan Sweet scored 10.

Sweet was one of seven players making their first appearance of the season. Those seven also played football, and that season didn’t end for Clovis until Saturday’s 40-0 loss to La Cueva in the state championship game.

Isler said normally he would prefer his teams play in competitive games against teams with up-tempo offensive styles, but Austin’s slow offensive pace combined with the easy victory allowed him to give the incoming players plenty of minutes.

“It was nice to have the game under control and use some different combinations and look at different things,” he said.

Isler said the seven incoming players’ conditioning held up and they were unselfish on offense.

“They probably did a little bit better than I expected,” he said.

Isler said Austin ran an offense similar to Princeton, with lots of passing, back-door cuts and patience.

“They were a very deliberate team,” Isler said.

Isler said the slow style worked against Austin when the Wildcats built their big lead, mainly because Austin didn’t shoot the ball enough to make up the deficit.

“I was surprised they didn’t try to shoot the ball more,” Isler said.

Roswell, Clovis’ opponent at 4:30 p.m. today in the second round, will likely put up more shots than Austin. Isler said Roswell is an athletic team that likes to press in the front court before shifting to zone in the half court.

“It should be a fast-paced, up-tempo game,” Isler said. “I’m sure we’ll get a challenge.”

The winner goes to the championship while the loser is in the third-place game.