Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Clovis Christian junior O.B. Blanco takes a contested jump shot during Saturday's District 6-1A tournament championship game at the CCS gym. Blanco finished with three 3-pointers and 13 points, but the Eagles dropped a 67-48 decision to the Foxes.
CLOVIS - Clovis Christian knew it would be tough trying to beat District 6-1A rival Fort Sumner for a third time this season in Saturday's district tournament finals.
The Foxes wasted little time taking charge, and made sure there wouldn't be any comeback.
Sophomore Seth Saiz scored 28 points and junior Clay Norman added 18 on six of the team's nine 3-point baskets as Fort Sumner cruised to a 67-48 victory at the CCS gym.
Because it won the regular-season title, CCS (19-8) earned a slightly higher seed than the runnerup Foxes (17-4) in Class 1A state tournament pairings released on Sunday by the New Mexico Activities Association. In round-of-16 games on tap tonight, the sixth-seeded Eagles host No. 12 Evangel Christian (21-6) at 5 p.m. while sixth seed Fort Sumner welcomes No. 11 Reserve (17-9) at 6 p.m.
In addition to their three meetings with the Foxes, the Eagles have faced Dora, Elida and Melrose twice each since Jan. 24. All are seeded ninth or higher in the state meet, and CCS has gone 4-5 in those games.
"It's hard to beat someone three times," CCS coach Trent McKay said. "They shot well, and we didn't. That's a few games now where we haven't shot well."
Norman had three 3s and Saiz added seven points, but CCS pulled to 20-14 at the quarter on a late 3 by junior Carter Teune. Fort Sumner, though, opened the second stanza with a 7-0 run capped by Norman's fourth 3, and the Eagles were never closer than 11 after that.
"We played well," Foxes coach Brad Holland said. "We rebounded better and took care of the ball better than we have in the past against them. And it always helps when you make shots."
Sophomore Joaquin Segura added 11 points for Fort Sumner. Meantime, Teune finished with two 3-pointers and 22 points for CCS, and junior O.B. Blanco added three 3s and 13 points.
Junior Noah Gershon, who had eight 3s and 31 points in the regular-season finale and district-clinching win at Fort Sumner on Feb. 19, ran into early foul trouble in this one. He was scoreless at halftime and finished with seven points.
As the season goes on, the stage gets bigger for CCS.
"We've never been here before," McKay said. "We don't always know how to act. Fort Sumner's been here a lot in the past, and we haven't."
Holland is hopeful his squad can build on its effort in this one.
"I thought we played hard," he said. "We still have some things to work on, but when the effort's good, good things happen."
In other boys district tourney finals on Saturday:
Dora 61, Elida 53 - In District 4-1A at Elida, the second-seeded Coyotes (16-9) evened their season series with the Tigers at 2-2 as senior Cache Skelley led four players in double figures with 16 points. Junior Steven Masini tallied 15, while junior Bryson Paxton added 11 and sophomore Cole Kircher 10.
Senior Rylan Creighton topped all scorers with 23 points for Elida (20-5).
In today's state openers, Dora takes the ninth seed into a matchup at eighth-seeded Legacy Academy (19-7) at 6 p.m. in Albuquerque, while the fourth-seeded Tigers welcome 15th seed Cimarron (13-13) in a 4 p.m. tilt at Elida.
Pecos 74, Texico 47 - In District 6-2A, the host Panthers opened a 19-point halftime lead and cruised past the Wolverines.
Junior Jodaiah Padilla scored 29 points and senior Isaiah Sandoval added 14 for Pecos (21-6), which earned the second seed in Class 2A and faces No. 15 Penasco at home tonight. Junior Jahvon Askew tallied 19 points for Texico (13-12), which gained the 10th seed and opens its state bid in a 5 p.m. tilt at seventh-seeded Hagerman (21-3).
