Cats top Coyotes in OT

CLOVIS - After a wild finish to regulation which saw Roswell High force overtime with a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer, Clovis High's boys were finally able to take control in the extra session.

The Coyotes went in front on two free throws three seconds into the OT, but the Wildcats dominated the remaining time to claim an 86-77 District 4-5A boys victory on Friday night at Rock Staubus Gym.

Clovis (4-19, 1-2 district), which has seven losses by six points or less this season, scored the final 11 points of the contest for its second win over the Coyotes (6-17, 0-3).

"I'm really proud of our kids," CHS boys coach Jaden Isler said. "Those are the types of games that we've struggled to pull out."

The Cats lost their top two inside players, junior R.J. Nora and senior Andrew Hall, to fouls midway through the fourth quarter. But they rallied back from a 10-point deficit early in the final stanza to lead 73-69 after two free throws by senior guard Luciano Webster with 18 seconds left.

Roswell High junior Jeremiah Burrola countered with a 3 before Webster hit two more free throws. As time was expiring, Coyotes junior Ivan Miramontes hit a guarded, off-balance 3 from the key to tie it.

The Coyotes, though, went cold in the OT and Clovis steadily pulled away, getting four points from sophomore Kash Roberts to take the lead for good 79-77.

"We had a small lineup in there, but those kids fought back," Isler said. "I was really proud of our bench tonight. We got some really big minutes from them."

Nora led five Cats in double digits with 18 points, while Webster finished with 16, senior guard Juan Hernandez 15, junior guard Brian Weiss 12 and Roberts 11.

Roswell High got into enormous late foul trouble. The Coyotes were called for 33 fouls and had five players disqualified from the latter part of the fourth quarter on.

Sophomore Josh Estrada led all scorers with 20 points for the Coyotes, while Burrola finished with 13, Miramontes 11 and senior Damian Morales 10.

The Cats hosted Carlsbad on Tuesday night at The Rock. They finish their regular-season home slate on Friday against Hobbs.

Clovis girls 49, Roswell High 33 - Playing the first of four road games in a nine-day period, the Lady Wildcats dominated the second stanza 15-1 to build a 17-point lead and cruised from there.

Clovis (15-7, 1-2 district) visited Carlsbad on Tuesday night and travels to Hobbs on Friday before stepping outside district play for a contest at Roswell Goddard on Saturday night.

Sophomore guard Zarai Lewis scored 12 points and senior guard Yvonne Fuerte added 11 for Clovis, which controlled the game with the help of 18-for-21 shooting from the free throw line, including 8-of-9 by Lewis.

"That was the big difference in the game, obviously," Lady Cats coach Jeff Reed said. "The first quarter we came out great on offense; we just didn't play that well on defense."

CHS led the Lady Coyotes 15-12 at the quarter before taking control. Roswell High (10-12, 0-3) never got closer than 12 points in the second half despite converting four of its six 3-pointers during that stretch.

"Offensively, we were a little stagnant in the second half," Reed said. "Roswell got after us; they pressured us man-to-man.

"We told the girls that Roswell was going to come out and fight in the second half. But we were able to play them even."

Freshmen Bryana Castro and Alayna Tarin collected half of the Lady Coyotes' 3-pointers and finished the night with eight points apiece.