Hawks dominant in win over Wildcats

CLOVIS - The bad news is that Clovis High's boys essentially had no chance against Volcano Vista on Saturday night at The Rock.

The good news? The Wildcats may not see many teams as deep and talented as the Hawks the rest of the way.

Dominating from inside and outside, Volcano Vista roared to a 25-3 lead at the quarter and cruised to a 74-34 victory in the Cats' season opener.

Senior guard Oscar McCoy had five of the Hawks' 12 3-point baskets and finished with a game-high 18 points, while senior guard Kaden Valdez added 15. Ten players scored for Volcano Vista (3-0), which is likely to be a serious contender for the Class 5A state title this season.

"They're tough all over the floor," CHS coach Jaden Isler said. "We hold their best guard (senior Jakwon Hill) to eight points and their best big (6-foot-8 junior Sean Alter) to four, and we still get beat by 40."

In fairness, the Cats have a roster limited on experience and are a work in progress. They battled after getting hammered at the start, but the Hawks simply had too many weapons.

Still, Volcano coach Greg Brown said Clovis made it tough at times for his squad.

"I thought we couldn't get into a rhythm because of Clovis changing defenses," he said. "Credit to coach Isler. They kept fighting, and at times that caused us a little frustration."

Senior guard Jaden Malone broke the scoring ice 45 seconds in with the Hawks' first 3-pointer, and the rout was on. After a 3-pointer by CHS senior guard Juan Hernandez at the 4:23 mark, Volcano hit three consecutive 3s for a 19-3 bulge with two minutes left in the period.

The Cats' had to make a decision - try to shut down the post players or the shooters. They went with the former.

"They made it hard on our post guys," Brown said. "Therefore, we had some opportunities on the perimeter, and we were able to knock some shots down early."

The Cats opened the second stanza with a 5-0 spurt, including a 3-point play by 6-foot-6 senior post Andrew Hall, but the Hawks quickly re-established control. Clovis managed only one free throw in the final three minutes of the half, which ended with the score 41-14.

Isler realizes it will take time for things to come together.

"For our sophomores, their last full season was as eighth-graders," he said. "It's just a big jump (to the varsity), and we're kind of fighting what COVID did to us.

"Obviously, we've got a lot of growing to do. The good thing about playing Volcano Vista first is that they're No. 1 or No. 2 in the state. We've got to try to close that gap between us and the elite teams."

Brown said the Hawks, who've won their first three contests by a combined 131 points, have had promising starts to a season in the past, only to fall short in the end.

"We want to keep getting better every day, and not get comfortable," he said.

Junior R.J. Nora led the Cats with eight points, while Hall and junior Jaydon Levenshown added seven apiece. Levenshon got all of his in the final segment, including a 3-point basket.

Clovis was slated to host Lovington on Tuesday night. The Cats travel to Albuquerque for a weekend tournament hosted by Academy H.S, and are slated to take on Organ Mountain (formerly Onate) in a 7 p.m. quarterfinal game on Thursday.