Clovis' hoop teams start off district play vs. Eldorado

With the team bus engine barely warm after Friday night's road loss to Cleveland, Clovis girls basketball head coach Jeff Reed was ready to look ahead.

All the way to Tuesday, when the Lady Wildcats will finally begin their District 2-6A competition.

Reed's team had just been dealt a frustrating loss, in a season already full of them, this time a setback that clearly occurred due to a poor first quarter. The Lady 'Cats, it seems, never go more than two games without having that one quarter, that one stretch where they melt down and it costs them a winnable game.

Time to iron out that kink. Tonight, district play is upon them, with mighty Eldorado visiting Rock Staubus Gymnasium (7 p.m.). These next few weeks will likely determine what kind of team Clovis is, how much postseason potential it has.

For sure, Friday's 69-61 loss to the Lady Storm in Rio Rancho was disappointing. But after losing the opening quarter 20-8, the Lady Wildcats won the rest of the game. It might just mean eliminating a hiccup or two for the Lady 'Cats to make a successful run through the regular-season district slate.

"The good part of (Friday's loss) was we showed we could play with a team like that," Reed said. "That tells me we'll have opportunities and chances against Eldorado and La Cueva and any other team in our district. But we've get to step up and make those shots and make those free throws and get the stops when we need them."

Friday was a microcosm of Clovis' season, which so far has the purple and white at 9-7. Despite losing, the Lady Wildcats displayed promise, showed they could play well enough to beat a good team, even if it didn't turn out that way on the scoreboard.

There was also the Plateau Holiday Classic semifinal against Farmington on Dec. 29, when the Lady 'Cats were right there before going cold in the second half. There was the Otero Tournament in Rio Rancho a few weeks earlier, where Clovis was eliminated from title contention on the second day, but played well enough in stretches to win that game against Mayfield, even had the lead early on, before ultimately losing 53-40.

"I think there are certain aspects that we've improved on that we're able to be in games like that," said Reed, whose team wound up third in the Otero Tournament after blasting Valley by 33 in the consolation game. "But, it goes back to being in a game against Mayfield and having a chance against them and we still lost by 13. Until we figure out how to be disciplined in certain areas, we're going to get the same result."

For the Lady Wildcats, Reed thinks, it's all about trying to do the right things often enough to avoid game-changing lapses.

"We've just got to be more consistent in the good stuff," he said, "and stop being inconsistent on those things. This is the time to do it, going into district play. This is the time to step up."

Consistency was there Friday night after the first period. From then on, Clovis outscored Cleveland 53-49.

"If we have the energy and enthusiam that we had for the other three quarters, hopefully this can be a learning experience," Reed said. "Maybe we can use it for the district play."

They'll find out soon. Tonight, Clovis will be at The Rock for the first time since routing Coronado 56-37 on Jan. 2. The Lady Wildcats have since played three straight road games and went 1-2. Back among the purple gymnasium seats and the friendly home bleachers, they'll get a tough Eldorado team (9-5) visiting tonight, then will host Manzano on Saturday, with a 6:30 p.m. scheduled tipoff time.

That's certainly a better slate than having to take two bus rides to Albuquerque.

"The good thing is, we're home twice this week," Reed said. "We've really got to take advantage of this. We've got to get the home upset against Eldorado and beat Manzano. We've really got to put ourselves in a good place by the end of the week."

Rested road warriors

If the Clovis boys basketball team struggles in tonight's District 2-6A opener at Eldorado, preparation time won't have been the problem.

The game in Albuquerque will be Clovis' first in a week.

It's been a much-needed hiatus, according to Wildcats head coach Scott Robinson.

"We had kids that were sick; (the layoff) helped us to kind of get well," Robinson said. "We got some rest for them and rehab, and we had some guys kind of banged up, too, so the rest has been good."

When last the Wildcats were on the hardwood for an actual game, they were down in Roswell on Jan. 9, slipping past Goddard 46-44 in overtime and improving to 8-7. Robinson wasn't at all pleased with how his team played, citing cold offensive stretches when neither team could get the ball through the magic orange hole. Still, the 'Cats won despite what Robinson said was their lack of offensive rhythm.

Tonight, when they get off the bus at Eldorado, Robinson hopes for both the rhythm and the positive result to be present. He knows there won't be room for many offensive droughts against the 11-2 Eagles.

"Eldorado is really good, playing well," Robinson said. "Their kids know how to play and they don't make a lot of mistakes, a pretty fundamentally sound team. They don't hurt themselves, run a good offense. Definitely one of the top teams in the state."

Meaning Clovis will need to play one of its best games to beat the Eagles. "We're going to have to be consistent offensively," Robinson said. "We're going to have to put some points on the board for sure."

A successful district start would mean playing well on the road. Clovis hasn't hosted a game at Rock Staubus Gymnasium since Jan. 4 against Roswell, and won't return there for another game until Jan. 23 against Santa Fe. Following tonight's game at Eldorado (7 p.m. scheduled tipoff), the 'Cats visit Manzano (6:30 scheduled start time) on Saturday.

Maybe home court advantage doesn't matter as much for the Wildcats this season. They did, after all, win that Goddard game, ragged as Robinson says it was. Against Roswell at The Rock? Clovis lost 69-55.

In fact, playing the early district games away from Staubus Gymnasium suits Robinson just fine.

"Actually, I like starting off early on the road in the first half," he said. "That'll give us more home games in the second half of districts, so that part I actually like."

Wherever they play, the Wildcats are looking to pick up wins. They ended 2017 on a six-game winning streak, including a championship in their own Griego and Sons Holiday Tournament. In 2018, they've been a bit up and down, but still have that winning record.

Now, though, the Wildcats are into the meat of the schedule, the district part of it. Winning is even more important.

"We kind of divide our seasons up into three parts— the pre-district schedule, then the district season and then the postseason," Robinson said. "So everything we've done to this point is to help get us ready for our district, and I feel like we've done that. We've played some good teams. We've lost some games we'd like to get back that got away from us. But we've learned some things about ourselves, and I think we're ready to go in and have a good district season."