By Don Eskins
It’s 2025, and Carlsbad High’s basketball teams have wasted no time getting back on the floor. Both the Cavemen and Cavegirls are currently competing in the Portales Invitational.
The tournament, using a round-robin format, tipped off on Thursday, January 2, and will run through Saturday, January 4. The Cavemen, 6-2, opened play against the Portales Rams (4-7) on Thursday. They’re scheduled to play the Santa Fe Demons (6-4) at 4 p.m. on Friday and the Pojoaque Valley Elks (8-1) at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. (Dates and times by MaxPreps)
The Cavegirls took the floor against the Silver City Colts (2-3) on Thursday. On Friday at 2:30 p.m., they’ll battle Gallup’s Miyamura Patriots (1-7), and on Saturday, at 4 p.m., they host Portales Ramettes (4-7). (Dates and times by MaxPreps)
Eddy County War Book II
Both the Cavemen and Cavegirls will be at home on Tuesday night, January 7, to host their Eddy County rival, the Artesia Bulldogs. It will mark the second time Carlsbad and Artesia have met in just a little more than two weeks.
The two schools split in their annual home-and-away opener on Friday, December 20, in Big Orange Country. In that opener, the Cavegirls squeaked by the Bulldogs in overtime, 58-49. The Cavemen, however, came up a bit short, dropping one to Artesia 64-51.
At stake are bragging rights for the 2024-25 season. Yup, on Tuesday night, January 7, you can bet Carlsbad High’s gymnasium will be “Rocking.”
On the boys’ side of Tuesday night’s action, the C-team will take the floor at 4:30 p.m., the JV’s at 6 p.m., and the varsity at 7:30 p.m.
In girls’ play, the JV’s will get things underway at 4:30 p.m., followed by the varsity at 6 p.m.
CHS Basketball Roundup
Dec. 20, 2024- in Artesia Cavegirls 58, Artesia 49 (OT). Down 40-29 to the Artesia Lady Bulldogs with just 3:57 remaining in the ballgame, the Cavegirls turned up the heat to outscore their Eddy County neighbors 16-5 down the stretch, highlighted by senior guard Abbey Dugan’s buzzer-beater to tie the game up at 45-45.
CHS went on to outpoint Artesia 13-4 in overtime to steal one from the Lady Dogs, 58-49. The triumph lifted CHS’s record to 8-2.
The top scorers for the Cavegirls were Abbey Dugan, 18; Maci Garcia, 15; and Jasmynn Gonzales and Becca Brown, nine each. All 15 of Garcia’s points came from outside the arc as she connected on five three-pointers. Cavemen 51, Artesia 64. The Carlsbad Cavemen, outscored by the Artesia Bulldogs 22-11 during first-quarter play, couldn’t overcome their 11-point deficit and fell to the Dogs 64-51. With the loss, Carlsbad fell to 6-2 on the year.
CHS was paced by Shane Sullivan. The 6’4” junior forward scored 14 points on the night. Senior guard Kyran Orgain also scored in double figures, dropping in 11.
Boards and trips to the free-throw line proved to play key roles in the CHS loss. The much taller Bulldogs outrebounded Carlsbad 43-22 and made good on 17 of 23 charity tosses. CHS connected on just two of three attempts. On the night, the Bulldogs were saddled with nine fouls, the Cavemen 21.
Cool shooting from outside the arc also hurt CHS in their bid to cage the Bulldogs. The Cavemen, who felt they needed to hit from outside the arc to get by Artesia, connected on just nine of 37 attempts for 24%.
Game Recaps
C-girls 05-08-09-23--13---58
Dogs 09-12-09-15--04---49
Game Stats: A. Dugan 18, M. Garcia 15, J. Gonzales 9, B. Brown 9, H. Brose 4, K. Ortega 2, and C. Zumbrun 1: FT’s 11-17-65%; 13x2’s; 7x3’s. (CHS Stats)
C-Men 11-14-12-14--51
Dogs 22-13-15-14--64
Game Stats: S. Sullivan 14pts-3R-2B-5 Stls; K. Orgain 11pts-4R-3A-1B-4 Stls; J. Chavarria 7pts-2R-1 Stl; B. Sullivan 6pts-1A-1 Stl; Z. Huerta 5pts-3R-1A-2 Stls; M. Mills 3pts-1A-1 Stl; T. Cornum 3pts-2R-1A-1 Stl; D. Preece 2pts-1R; J. Moyers 1R; J. Herrera 1R; M. De Leon 1A. FT’s 2-3-67%; 2pt shots 11-25-44%; 3pt shots 9-37-24%:(HUDL Digital Stats)
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