Late Cats rally falls short

CLOVIS - Clovis High's boys continue to get so close to winning they can almost taste it.

Not enough good things are happening at key moments, though, and the Wildcats headed into this week's Griego & Sons tournament at Rock Staubus Gym still seeking their first win.

Centennial appeared to have control much of the way in Saturday's matchup at The Rock, but the Hawks had to hang on down the stretch before closing out a 58-52 victory.

Centennial (4-5) never trailed and led by as many as 14 points in the first half, but had to survive a frenetic last minute and finally made three free throws in the final five seconds to ice it.

"It's the same story," Cats coach Jaden Isler said. "We're making the same mistakes at the end of every game.

"There's no excuse for not getting a rebound on (an opponent's missed) free throw."

It's a bit of a wonder how the Cats (0-7) were able to stay in it, when you consider Clovis committed 10 first-quarter turnovers and, with under a minute left in the half, actually had more mechanical miscues (13) than points (12).

Senior guard Luciano Webster's potential game-tying 3 with about 15 seconds left was off the mark, forcing Clovis to foul. Centennial then grabbed three consecutive caroms off its own missed charity tosses and essentially ran out the clock.

"It was a tough one on the road," Hawks coach Johnathan Martinez said. "It's always hard to come in here and play Clovis. I thought we got a little more apprehensive (toward the end), and we may have gotten tired."

Senior guard Nicolas Serna finished with three 3-pointers and 15 points for Centennial, while senior guard Dax Rios and junior guard Azael Dominguez added 11 apiece. Martinez said the Hawks were without leading scorer Jeven Beltran, who sat out due to concussion protocols from the team's previous contest against Belen.

"He's our comfort blanket," Martinez said, adding that Beltran averages around 20 ppg. "The boys really stepped up for him."

Trailing 27-16 at the break, senior guard Juan Hernandez had a big third quarter for the second time in three nights. He poured in 11 of his game-high 19 points in the stanza, helping the Cats cut their deficit to two late in the period.

Centennial rebuilt a 10-point advantage with just over two minutes left before the Cats' belated comeback bid.

"I don't feel like anybody makes us make mistakes," Isler said. "We just make mistakes throughout the game.

"Until we quit beating ourselves, we're not going to get over the hump."

CHS girls 58, Alamgordo 37 - At Alamo on Saturday, the Lady Wildcats (7-3) raced to a 20-3 lead at the quarter and kept a double-figure margin the rest of the way.

Clovis had only 16 field goals, including no 3-pointers, but converted 26-of-38 from the free throw line, including 11-of-13 by sophomore guard Zarai Lewis and 5-of-6 by senior guard Yvonne Fuerte, both of whom finished with 15 points.

"We came out the best we have all year," said Lady Cats coach Jeff Reed, whose team beat Cibola 50-39 on Friday night at The Rock. "And after a four-hour bus trip, it was awesome.

"We jumped all over them. We had a heck of a first-quarter."

CHS led 33-7 late in the half before seniors Destiny Montoya and Anna Riordan hit back-to-back 3s for the Lady Tigers (5-4), who also won at home on Friday, beating Silver 41-23. They got it down to 13 at one point in the third stanza, but the Lady Cats forced several turnovers and by period's end their lead was back to 21.

Riordan was Alamo's only player in double digits, hitting a pair of 3s and going 6-for-6 from the line for 14 points.