Bovina outscores Boys Ranch

BOVINA - Playing its first game of the season due to issues with coronavirus, the Boys Ranch boys basketball team looked like it might pull off a somewhat surprising win on Friday night.

Senior guard Steve Callison's 3-pointer as time expired in the second quarter - Boys Ranch's fourth trey of the half - gave the Roughriders a nine-point advantage. They extended that to 11 early in the third segment before Bovina stormed back and pulled away late to a 49-40 District 3-2A victory.

Bovina (7-2, 2-0 district) scored the final 13 points of the third period to take the lead, but needed a game-ending 15-6 run after Boys Ranch tied it again with under four minutes left.

"They're going to be good," Mustangs coach Eric Fierro said of the Roughriders. "We hit some shots late that changed the momentum, but they're not going to be a cakewalk like everybody thinks."

Boys Ranch coach Michael Jackson said the school was shut down over the holidays, adding that his team had just 10 practices to get ready for their opener. Jackson himself contracted covid last month.

The Roughriders were slated to host Farwell on Saturday night.

All things considered, Jackson said his team did well. Still, Boys Ranch couldn't overcome 27 turnovers and was outscored by the Mustangs 34-16 in the second half.

"Some of these guys don't know me yet," he said. "We shot the ball well (early), but then we started throwing the ball around.

"They're coachable, but every game counts now. (Bovina's) gotten better; they executed a little better in the second half."

Sophomore Darian DeLaRosa led the Mustangs with 16 points, while senior Jose Mata added 14. Junior Angel Lara finished with 10, including a couple of key 3-pointers in the second half.

"I knew coming in they would be tough," Fierro said. "This is the first thing they've gotten to do since the football season."

No one reached double digits for Boys Ranch, but four players finished with at least seven points led by Callison and sophomore Isiah Brown with nine apiece. Brown had three of the team's five 3-pointers.

Bovina girls 58, Boys Ranch 30 - The Lady Roughriders, also playing their first game of the season, kept it close for a quarter before Bovina (5-6, 1-2 district) outscored them 13-6 in the second stanza to take control.

"We got off to a slow start," Fillies coach Scott Hill said. "It's great to get a district win."

Senior Ireydi Vela scored a personal-best 30 points, including four 3-point baskets. She netted 14 of Bovina's 15 fourth-quarter tallies.

Meantime, sisters Krista and Kate Saenz added 11 and 10, respectively, with Krista Saenz adding a pair of 3s and also recording her high point total.

"Our point guard, Ireydi, had just an all-around great performance," Hill said. "It was her best performance of the season.

"Kate did a great job of penetrating and passing, and she also did a good job of rebounding."

Senior Klarissa Martinez finished with a pair of 3-pointers and eight points for the Lady Riders.

Also on Friday, Muleshoe's girls improved to 10-10 (5-2 District 3-3A) with a 46-27 home victory over Denver City. The boys matchup was postponed due to covid issues within the Denver City program, and has been tentatively rescheduled for Feb. 6.

In Tuesday's games:

Bovina boys 44, Vega 42 - DeLaRosa scored 16 points, including the go-ahead basket in the final moments, as the Mustangs opened district play with a seesaw win over the host Longhorns.

"We kept going back and forth," Fierro said. "We were just able to sneak ahead there at the end."

Bovina scored the first eight points of the second quarter for an 18-10 edge, only to see Vega rally back for 11 in a row. The Mustangs led 24-23 at halftime.

Tied 35-35 early in the final stanza, the Longhorns countered a 7-0 Bovina run with seven consecutive tallies of their own before DeLaRosa's basket settled it.

Lara added nine points for the Mustangs. Meantime, sophomore Creed Gilter (19 points) and senior Conner Brorman (16) combined for five 3-pointers and accounted for all but seven of the Vega's points.

Vega 85, Bovina girls 48 - The Fillies kept up with Vega in the second and fourth periods, but the Lady Longhorns (11-6, 2-0) dominated the first and third stanzas.

Senior Madalyn Richards tallied 26 points and junior Katelyn Ruiz added 23 for Vega, while junior Dakota Walker knocked down a trio of 3-pointers and finished with 11 points. For Bovina, Vela posted 22 points while juniors Mia Reyna and Kate Saenz chipped in 10 and nine, respectively.

Dimmitt 45, Muleshoe boys 40 - In a nip-and-tuck battle at Muleshoe, the District 3-3A-leading Bobcats outscored the Mules 13-6 in the third quarter to overcome a two-point halftime deficit.

Dimmitt (7-7, 4-0) rode a balanced attack led by 10 points from senior Acqtavian Baty and eight from sophomore C.J. Wiley.

"One thing we do well is our defense usually shows up," Mules coach Humberto Gonzalez said. "It's just a matter of us getting more (done) on offense."

Junior Brennen Davis battled foul trouble much of the night but finished with a team-high 10 points for Muleshoe (4-6, 1-3), while junior Abraham Mendoza and sophomore Irvin Torres had eight points apiece.

In girls action, the Lady Mules rolled to a 49-22 win over the Lady Bobcats.