Cats outlast Eagles at buzzer

A coaching move helped win Clovis High's game on Thursday against Navajo Prep. And it wasn't even authored by Wildcats coach Josh Mattox.

After taking the lead on a layup by senior guard Keilyn Parker with 13 seconds left, Mattox, at the suggestion of senior guard Manny Gutierrez during a timeout, inserted 6-foot-2 junior J.J. Saiz for him when play resumed.

It paid off when Saiz was able to get enough of the ball to force a held ball as Eagles senior Jude Thomas tried to go up for the potential game-winner in the final second, allowing the Cats to escape with a 59-58 win on the second night of Clovis' Holiday Classic at Rock Staubus Gym.

CHS (7-2) avenged a 63-34 thumping by the Eagles, currently ranked second by MaxPreps in Class 3A, in last year's Poe Corn Invitational at Roswell.

"(Saiz) provides us with a little more length and athleticism," Mattox said. "Manny made that decision. He said, 'Put in J.J. for this last possession.'"

Thomas got the ball on the left baseline in traffic, and as he tried to go up Saiz managed to get his hand on it. Thomas ended up making the shot, but it came after the held ball was called.

"We're learning how to win, little by little," Mattox said. "These guys are growing, and we're getting better."

With the Eagles returning most of their top players from last year's 3A semifinal squad, the Cats knew they were in for a dogfight. For the second night in a row, no one for Clovis scored more than 10 points, yet the Cats managed to pick up a pair of victories.

"We got it done," said a relieved Mattox. "This one felt good."

Clovis trailed the entire first quarter, then opened a six-point lead late in the half before the Eagles (5-2) stormed back.

A 9-0 surge early in the third put Navajo Prep in front 33-27. The Cats rallied to tie it, then fell behind 46-39 on a shot from the lane by Thomas to start the final canto.

Consecutive 3s by junior Jayden Cox and senior J.J. Jones helped bring Clovis back and set up the finish.

Cox and Jones each finished with 10 points for Clovis while the Eagles, who suffered their first loss on Wednesday against Valley, got 20 points from freshman guard Breygen Benally, 15 from junior guard/forward Xavier Nez and 10 from senior post Orion King.

In other boys games on Thursday, Valley edged Las Cruces High 41-35 in overtime while La Cueva pounded Silver 75-47.

The Cats were scheduled to meet La Cueva in Friday's finale. They begin play in this year's Poe Corn tourney on Wednesday, taking on Los Alamos in a 6 p.m. quarterfinal matchup at Goddard H.S.

Clovis 55, Silver 40 (Wednesday) – While senior guard Kalil Torres-Pierre has garnered more playing time this season than last for the Cats, even he was probably surprised to end up the team's leading scorer against the Colts

Torres-Pierre scored with less than 3 ½ minutes remaining, making him the only Clovis player in double figures in the game with 10 points. Senior Marvin Cox, Jayden Cox and sophomore Johnny Molina each had nine points in a game where Clovis blew out to a 21-2 lead late in the first quarter and cruised.

"Last year I was kind of a role player," Torres-Pierre said. "This year I'm doing more."

CHS survived a pair of scoreless droughts of more than four minutes and committed 17 turnovers, but the Cats' length created plenty of issues for Silver (3-5).

"It seemed like we were all hot early and then we fizzled out," Mattox said. "The second half we tried to make adjustments, but we didn't respond that well."

Senior forward Vicente Padilla led all scorers with 19 points for Silver, which won at Gadsden 59-49 on Tuesday on the first of four games in four days. The Colts never got closer than 14 points after Clovis' early blitz.

"We kept getting stops on defense," Torres-Pierre said. "I feel like we're together as a team."

Last year's squad finished 11-16 and lost eight of its last nine, but Torres-Pierre is confident good things loom ahead.

"We feel like we should make it to state," he said. "We just have to keep taking it game-by-game."

It's still a work in progress, Mattox acknowledged.

"I feel like we sped ourselves up tonight and got a little out of control," he said. "They got physical with us, and we didn't do a good job of playing against it."

In other Wednesday tilts, Valley outlasted Navajo Prep 66-61 and La Cueva beat Las Cruces High 68-54.