TEXICO — Good teams find ways to win.
Texico High's boys basketball team did just that, adjusting on defense and rallying for a 65-52 home victory over Gateway Christian Tuesday night.
The Wolves, as a result, improved to 4-0 on the season.
Texico's Dalton Thatcher led all scorers with 27 points, including six treys and a 9-of-10 performance from the free-throw line.
Joe Waide burned Texico for four threes and 14 points in the first half, but the Wolverines held him to just two points in the second.
"He's a quick kid and he can shoot it," Texico head coach Ty Thatcher said. "We did a better job of defending him in the second half."
His team did a better job of defending everyone in that half after getting torched a bit in the first.
"We had some success with our zone last game (against Portales)," Coach Thatcher said, "and (Gateway Christian) kind of exposed that tonight, the weaknesses that I was afraid of. They did a good job of adjusting tonight."
Texico had trailed 17-14 after the first quarter and led only 28-27 at halftime. The third quarter, though, was owned by the Wolverines who outscored Gateway Christian 21-4 in that period.
"The third was kind of the difference in the game," Coach Thatcher said. "We got away from them a little bit and were able to create some offensive frustration for them."
Texico will play Amherst on Thursday in the Farwell Tournament.