By Don Eskins
For three- and one-half quarters, the 13th-seeded 17-12 Carlsbad Cavemen hung with the fourth-seeded 23-7 Roswell Coyotes during first-round action of the Class 5A State Basketball Tournament in Roswell on Saturday night, March 8.
Carlsbad trailed the Coyotes 33-28 at the half and were behind by just four, 45-41, after three. But the Otes were able to pull away during the final few minutes of the fourth quarter to down the upset-minded Cavemen 58-49.
Senior guard Kyran Orgain led the Cavemen. Orgain registered 15 points, two rebounds, four assists, and two steals for his night’s work. On Orgain’s heels was junior forward Shane Sullivan who dropped in 13 points and led CHS on the boards with seven rebounds.
Also contributing points for Carlsbad were Zenas Huerta with nine, Jacob Chavarria with five, and Maliq Mills with three. Brandon Sullivan and Mario De Leon each dropped in two.
On the night, CHS hit 53% of their two-point shots, nine of 17, and 39% of their threes, nine of 23. At the line, they dropped in four of nine free throws for 44%.
With the loss, the 2024-25 season came to an official end for the Cavemen, who competed in what very well could have been the toughest district in Class 5A basketball.
NMAA 1st Round Recap
CHS 14-14-13-08--49
RHS 15-18-12-13--58
Scoring: Kyran Orgain 15, Shane Sullivan 13, Zenas Huerta 9, Jacob Chavarria 5, Maliq Mills 3, Brandon Sullivan 2, Mario De Leon 2: FT’s 4-9-44%.
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