By Don Eskins
For Cavemen sports fans, it’s that time of the year again! Yup, it’s the renewal of the Eddy County Wars, only this time, they’ll be played on a hardcourt instead of turf.
On Friday night, December 20, the Cavemen and Cavegirl basketball teams will tangle with the always-tough Artesia Bulldogs in Big Orange Country. Prep basketball just doesn’t get much better than this!
In girls’ play, the JVs will tip off at 4 p.m., followed by the varsity at 5:30 p.m. In the boys’ competition, C-team play will get underway at 4 p.m., the JVs at 5:30 p.m., and the varsity at 7 p.m.
Both the Cavemen and Cavegirls will enter Friday’s battle riding high.
Since dropping a 63-52 clash to New Mexico’s top-ranked Hobbs Eagles on December 6, the Cavemen have reeled off four straight wins to go 6-1 on the year. The Cavegirls, currently on a three-game win streak, are 7-2 on the year.
On the other hand, the 3-5 Lady Bulldogs will come into the clash riding a two-game slide. But their record is somewhat deceptive. Most recently, they’ve dropped games to Class 5A’s eighth-ranked Cleveland Storm, 45-36, and 10th-ranked Clovis Wildcats, 70-47.
In the area of common opponent wins, CHS beat Alamogordo 44-30; Artesia downed the Tigers 47-39. Both teams have also played Goddard, a team the Cavegirls upended 40-28 while the Bulldogs lost 54-47.
Last year, Artesia swept CHS, winning both meetings between the schools, 51-30 and 40-33.
But this isn’t last year, and the Cavegirls are up for the test.
“Playing at home in front of their fans, we expect to see a great effort from the Lady Bulldogs,” said Cavegirl head coach Matt Enloe. “They have a new coach, are running a lot of new things, and they’ve got some very athletic girls, so we know they’ll be tough.
“But our girls are ready to play. It’s Artesia, and we usually don’t have to say much at all to get them fired up for the Lady Bulldogs,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to get in rhythm and hit a few shots early. If we can do that, we’ll be in good shape.”
Artesia’s boys, after logging wins over Kirtland Central 65-29, Los Lunas 46-29, and Santa Teresa 75-40, and losses to Valencia 50-46 and Hobbs 81-65, will take the floor at 3-2.
As common opponents, CHS also defeated Los Lunas 48-2 and Santa Teresa 64-37.
During two meetings in 2023-24, the Cavemen and Bulldogs split. CHS lost the first game 58-41 but won the second 40-36.
“Artesia will be tough. They’ve got a lot of height this year. They have one kid that’s 6’8” and four others around 6’4. Even their guards are 6’2”. As we’re not very tall, that could be a problem for us,” said Caveman head coach John Zumbrun. “To be successful against the Bulldogs, we’re going to have to get some boards and control the pace of the game. We’re also going to have to make shots, especially from the outside.”
Cavegirl Basketball Roundup
Cavegirls 40, Goddard 28. Cavegirl Jasmynn Gonzales, with 18 points, led CHS to a 40-28 victory over the Goddard Rockets on Tuesday night, December 17, in Roswell. Besides dropping in three twos and one three, she made good on 9-of-12 free throw attempts.
Rounding out the Cavegirls’ scoring was Abbey Dugan with 16 and Rebecca Brown with six. Nine of Dugan’s 16 points came from beyond the arc.
Cavegirls 66, Santa Teresa 11. On Saturday afternoon, December 14, Carlsbad High rolled over Santa Teresa 66-11. The top point scorer for CHS was Abbey Dugan with 19. Jasmynn Gonzales and Hayden Brose each added 11.
Cavemen Basketball Roundup
Cavemen 65, Alamogordo 38. Led by Shane Sullivan’s 17 points, Carlsbad High rolled over the Alamogordo Tigers 65-38 on Thursday night, December 12, in Alamogordo. Sullivan, a 6’6” junior center, also pulled down seven rebounds.
Enjoying double-digit nights alongside Sullivan were Kyran Orgain and Jacob Chavarria, both with 12.
Cavemen 64, Santa Teresa 37. The host, Santa Teresa Warriors, on Thursday night, December 12, had no answer for the fired-up Carlsbad Cavemen. Paced by Kyran Orgain’s 17 points and Zenas Huerta’s 10, CHS ran by the Warriors 64-37.
CHS Game Results:
Cavegirl Recaps
Tuesday- December 17
CHS 15-07-05-13--40
GHS 10-02-06-08--26
Game Stats: J. Gonzales 18; A. Dugan 16; R. Brown 6: FT’s 10-14-72%. (CHS Stats)
Saturday- December 14
CHS 20-25-10-11--66
STHS 04-03-01-03--11
Game Stats: A. Dugan 19, J. Gonzales 11, H. Brose 11, R. Brown 6, J. Licon 5, S. Madrano 4, T. Payanes 4, J. Bragg 3, F. Kluesner 2, M. Payanes 1: FT’s 14-27-52%; (CHS Stats)
Cavemen Recaps
Thursday- December 12
CHS 14-15-15-17--65
AHS 05-11-15-07--38
Scoring- T. Cornum 6pts-2R; M. Mills 2R-1A-1S; K. Orgain 12pts-3R-1A-2S; Z. Huerta 8pts-1R-3A-3; J. Chavarria 12pts-3R-6A-5S; D. Preece 2pts-6R-1A; S. Sullivan 17pts-7R-1A-2S; B. Sullivan 8pts-1R-1A-2S; M. De Leon 2R: Game Stats- Shooting 27-47-47.4%; 2pt. 17-19-58.6%; 3pt.10-28-35.7%; FT’s 1-3-33% (Hudl Digital Stats)
Saturday- December 14
CHS 12-19-20-13--64
STHS 09-03-09-16--37
Game Stats: T. Cornum 3pts-1R-1A-1S; M. Mills 5pts-1R-1A-2S; K. Orgain 17pts-3R-2A-1B-3S; Z. Huerta 10pts-2R-1A-1S; J. Herrera 1R-2A-1S; J. Chavarria 2pts-3R-3A-3S; K. Quarles 5pts-2R; D. Preece 4pts-1R-1A-1S; J. Moyers 3pts-3R-3S; E. Banks 5pts-1R-1A-2B-1S; B. Sullivan 5pts-1R-1A; M. De Leon 4pts-2R: FT’s 7-10-70%; 2pt shots 18-31-58.1%; 3pt shots 7-21-33%; Total shots 25-52-48.1%. (Hudl Digital Stats- 1pt unaccounted for)
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