Foxes slip past Buffs 72-70

TEXICO - A shooting flurry of 15 3-pointers put the Fort Sumner Foxes nearly within reach of the Eastern Plains Athletic Conference finish line Saturday night. A lot of rebounding, and one piece of well-timed defense, provided the final push.

Joaquin Segura scored 26 points to lead all scorers, but made the play of the night deflecting a Melrose inbounds pass in the closing seconds to seal a 72-70 victory at Texico Sports Arena for the Foxes' third EPAC title in program history and first since 2011.

Chance Thomson had 15 of his 18 points in the third quarter and Clay Norman added 13 for the Foxes (7-2), who trailed for less than 30 seconds all night and led by as many as 14 early in the fourth quarter but helped fuel Melrose's late comeback with five straight free throw misses in the last 10.5 seconds.

Only five players scored for the Foxes, but all had at least seven points and hit at least one 3-pointer during Fort Sumner's 15-of-38 performance from beyond the arc.

That's the kind of balance Melrose coach Kevin Lackey said prevented a repeat title. The Buffaloes (7-3) won the 2020 EPAC, and last year's tournament was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.

"They hit 15 threes; they shot the lights out," Lackey said. "The first quarter (22-13 Foxes), we did a horrible job of our game plan and executing defensively.

'We wanted to make it hard on Segura and Norman. We did a lot better job in the next three quarters, but other kids (stepped up), specifically Thomson. He was the difference and the game-changer in that third quarter."

Foxes coach Brad Holland credited the win to a 33-26 rebounding advantage, led by Seth Saiz' 11 boards, against a Melrose team that had more interior size and strength.

"I thought we worked hard on the glass," Holland said. "We had some balls bounce our way and we were able to clear some boards.

"When they're rebounding, they're a tough team to beat. You've got your off nights (shooting the ball). The main thing is we can't stand and watch people shoot. We've got to get on the boards."

Logan DeVaney posted a double-double for the Buffaloes, tallying 19 points and 10 rebounds. His first basket, a putback midway through the first period, gave the Buffaloes their only lead of the night at 7-6.

Freshman Cy Draper added 17 points while Brandon Garcia had 10 for the Buffaloes.

Though there were no moral victories to be had in Texico, Lackey was happy the game didn't turn into a runaway Foxes win.

"We kept getting down by 10, 12, and we battled back," Lackey said. "They'd make a run. I was proud of the guys. We battled and battled and gave ourselves a chance at the end. It's a team we'll see plenty more."

The teams face off again Tuesday in Fort Sumner and on Feb. 10 in Melrose, and could very well see each other in the District 6-1A and Class 1A state tournaments.

Five of the last seven EPAC boys winners have reached their respective state championship game, with Texico winning in 2016 and Melrose in 2020.

In other boys final-round games on Saturday:

Dora 48, Texico 36 (3rd place) - The Coyotes opened a 21-5 lead at the quarter and the Wolverines were never able to catch up.

Junior Steven Masini scored 21 points and senior Cache Skelley chipped in 15 for Dora (7-5). Junior Jahvon Askew had 11 points for Texico (6-5), followed by senior Kaden Queener and freshman Alex Fuentes with eight apiece.

Elida 83, Logan 61 (5th place) - The Tigers (12-2) ran away to a 42-23 halftime lead and cruised past the Longhorns (4-9).

Senior Rylan Creighton scored 29 points and junior Aiden Yates added 21 for Elida. Also in double digits for the Tigers were brothers Jose and Seth Jimenez with 11 and 10, respectively.

Grady 49, Floyd 44 (7th place) - Senior Justin Verble scored 23 points, including seven in each of the final three stanzas, as the Bronchos (5-8) overcame a six-point deficit at the quarter to outlast Floyd (2-10).

Junior Brayan Gallegos topped Floyd with 10 points.