Demons ride guard's 31 points to victory

CLOVIS – Little things are still getting the best of the Clovis High boys basketball team.

In Saturday’s game against Santa Fe High at Rock Staubus Gym, both teams made six 3-pointers and 12 free throws. It’s just that it took the Wildcats more shots to do it.

Junior guard Lukas Turner scored 31 points and the Demons led almost all the way in subduing the Cats 62-56.

A 7-0 start promptly put Clovis behind the 8-ball. A long 3-pointer by junior forward Champ Gooden pulled the Cats even 13-13 at the quarter, and they managed three one-point leads early in the second frame before a 10-0 run gave made it 32-22 late in the half and gave Santa Fe High the lead for good.

A breakaway dunk by junior forward J.J. Jones, who finished with a personal-best 20 points, pulled Clovis to 56-53 with 3:42 left, but Turner’s off-balance drive in the lane made it a five-point game about a minute later.

“We figured out that J.J. could do it for us, but we couldn’t find away to stop No. 3 (Turner),” CHS boys coach Josh Mattox said. “We missed some layups early that it feels like could’ve sparked us a little better.”

While Jones went 7-for-8 from the foul line, the rest of the team managed just 5-for-16. And though the Cats had just two more turnovers than Santa Fe High (19-17), it seemed as if they often came at inopportune moments.

Meantime, Turner – averaging around 27 ppg – scored 20 in the first half. He was the only player to finish double digits for the Demons.

“He’s a leader for us,” coach Zack Cole said. “He needs to be in great shape because he plays the whole game. He does it on both ends of the court.”

Santa Fe High had a bit of foul trouble in the second half, including Turner.

“We made a decision around the six-minute mark that we were going to go with our starters and if they fouled out, they fouled out,” Cole said. “It all worked out in the end.”

Gooden and junior forward Marvin Cox also reached double figures for the Cats with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

“We took too long to slow down No. 3,” Mattox said. “He shouldn’t have (scored) that much.”

Senior guard Brian Weiss missed the game for the Cats. Mattox said Weiss wasn’t feeling well on Saturday, and also tweaked an ankle in Tuesday’s loss to Cibola in Albuquerque.

The Cats finish pre-district play on the road this week. They played at Roswell Goddard on Tuesday night and travel to Lovington on Friday.