Basketball preview capsules for Clovis, Portales, ENMU

Clovis

BOYS

Manzano (12-8, 4-2) at Clovis (8-13, 0-6), 7 p.m., Rock Staubus Gymnasium

Last time out: The Wildcats gave it a go against top-ranked Eldorado, trailing by three at one point in the first quarter. But it didn’t take long for the Eagles to get rolling, and they won 68-44 at Rock Staubus Gymnasium.

Manzano was on the road at La Cueva Saturday, and came away with an 82-76 win.

Last meeting: Jan. 20. Clovis fell behind early, 15-6, and trailed 34-24 at halftime.

The Wildcats did get back into it with a strong third quarter, during which time they outscored the Monarchs 17-8. But, Manzano prevailed in the fourth quarter and won 55-52.

The lowdown: OK, we’ve been here before. Clovis needs to get that first district win and all, yadda, yadda, yadda.

But, district and state tournament implications aside, this seems like it could be a pretty good game. Clovis has played well enough to beat all of its district opponents not named the Eldorado Eagles, and did give this Manzano team a good battle up in Albuquerque last month.

The Monarchs are on a roll, having won three straight against Santa Fe (55-47), Sandia (58-50) and La Cueva. With Manzano looking to extend that streak and Clovis hungry for a district win, its first win period since edging Goddard in overtime on Jan. 9, this could be a fun one at The Rock.

GIRLS

Clovis (12-10, 3-3) at Manzano (5-15, 1-5), 7 p.m., Manzano High School

Last time out: Clovis lost to Eldorado on the road Saturday, 53-40.

Manzano hosted La Cueva on Sunday and lost 50-45.

Last meeting: Jan. 20. The teams’ first matchup of the season was at Rock Staubus Gymnasium, and the Lady Wildcats had a dominant second quarter, outscoring the Lady Monarchs 11-0 in that period, to build a 21-4 halftime lead.

It was 34-9 after three quarters on the way to Clovis’ 45-22 victory.

The lowdown: This seems to be a different, somewhat improved Manzano team since last month’s meeting at The Rock.

The Monarchs’ most recent win was against Santa Fe, 51-47, on Jan. 27. Since then, they’ve lost two close games — 53-51 at Sandia on Jan. 30 and the five-point home loss to La Cueva this past weekend.

Clovis would like to make a big push to the regular-season finish line over the next two weeks. As for this week, the Lady Wildcats would like to go 2-0, something that’s given them trouble. They do play two teams — Manzano and Santa Fe — who they’ve already beaten this season.

— Compiled by Staff Writer Peter Stein

Portales

Boys

Portales (12-9, 2-2) at Moriarty (15-6, 3-1), 7 p.m.

Last time out: Portales topped Robertson 64-54 on the road Saturday. Moriarty beat Ruidoso, 80-54, on Tuesday night.

Last meeting: Moriarty held off a late Portales charge with a 70-68 win at Rams Athletic Center, back on Jan. 19.

Notes: The Rams are still trying to put some of their recent struggles behind them, as the Jan. 19 loss to Moriarty is part of a current stretch that includes losing three of their last six games. Portales nearly erased an 11-point deficit with under six minutes to play in its last meeting against the Pintos, but a potential game-winning shot at the buzzer was no good. The Pintos’ current three-game winning streak has seen them outscore their opponents by 59 points, or 19.7 per game.

Girls

Portales (20-2, 3-0) at Moriarty (20-1, 2-1), 5:30 p.m.

Last time out: The Rams routed Hope Christian at home on Friday night, 57-31. The Pintos made easy work of Ruidoso at home on Tuesday night, 58-28.

Last meeting: Portales routed previously-undefeated Moriarty (17-0) at Rams Athletic Center, 47-30, back on Jan. 19.

Notes: Portales had a remarkable defensive outing against Hope Christian on Friday night, holding the Huskies to just six first-half points. In fact, Hope was held scoreless for an eight minute stretch, as the Rams had multiple runs of 10-0 or better along the way. Zamorye Cox had another exceptional night, scoring 24 points. Ironically, last Friday’s game mirrored that of Portales’ Jan. 19 outing against Moriarty. The Pintos were limited to just 13 points in the first half of that game, and like Hope, could never really get its offense going. Moriarty missed open shot after open shot in that contest, leading to the Pintos’ first (and thus far only) loss of the 2017-18 season. Standout guard Alyssa Adams was held to just nine points in the matchup. Since then, Moriarty is on a three-game winning streak, outscoring its opponents by more than 24 points per game.

— Compiled by Staff Writer Eric Murray

Eastern New Mexico

Women

Eastern New Mexico (13-8, 9-5 LSC) at Western New Mexico (0-22, 0-14), 5:30 p.m.

Last time out: Eastern trailed Texas A&M-Commerce 45-43 heading into the fourth quarter Saturday at Greyhound Arena, but outscored the Lions 21-15 in the fourth and prevailed 64-60.

Daeshi McCants poured in 24 points for the Hounds.

Western New Mexico lost at home Saturday, falling to Tarleton State 70-64.

Last meeting: Jan. 2. Eastern wasted little time jumping out on Western at Greyhound Arena, taking a 22-14 lead after one quarter. By game’s end, the Hounds had posted a 69-49 victory.

Shelby Jones led Eastern with 18 points, and was the only Greyhound to reach double-digit scoring that night. Western New Mexico’s Ciara Fields led all scorers with 19.

The lowdown: The last time they played, Eastern seemed to be struggling to find its identity. The victory improved ENMU to a so-so 6-6 overall, 2-3 in the LSC.

Now, the Hounds are a team that opponents would probably rather not play, having won four straight, five of their last six, and eight of their last ten.

Western New Mexico has not tasted victory yet this season, so Eastern doesn’t want to be the first team in the Mustangs’ win column. That doesn’t seem likely. ENMU should head into Thursday’s game at Texas Woman’s on a five-game winning streak.

Men

Eastern New Mexico (10-12, 5-8 LSC) at Western New Mexico (3-19, 0-13 LSC), 7:30 p.m.

Last time out: Eastern had a dandy at Greyhound Arena on Saturday, needing overtime to best Texas A&M-Commerce 85-81.

The game was tied 69-all after regulation, and the Hounds outscored A&M-Commerce 16-12 in the extra period to pick up a big win. Lamarquis Thompson led ENMU with 15 points.

Western New Mexico hosted Tarleton State on Saturday and lost 66-49, the Mustangs’ ninth straight setback.

Last meeting: Jan. 2. In this season’s first installment of the cross-state rivalry, Eastern beat Western 105-91 at Greyhound Arena.

ENMU’s Devin Pullum led all scorers with 21 points. Willie McCray led Western with 19 points.

The lowdown: Western New Mexico is obviously struggling. The Mustangs are reeling on a nine-game losing streak and have yet to beat any Lone Star Conference opponent.

This is one the Hounds need to get. It would pull them closer to .500 in both their overall and conference records. There wouldn’t be too many good excuses if they lost to a 3-19 team, other than the team bus breaking down. Eastern probably won’t need to rack up another 105 points, just get the win, whatever it takes.

— Compiled by Staff Writer Peter Stein