PICTURED: The Bulldog basketball team and their coaches await the start of a game during the City of Champions Classic.
(Photo Courtesy Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)
BULLDOG BASKETBALL
PICTURED: Clay Kincaid throws down a dunk during Artesia's 64-51 win over Carlsbad Dec. 20 at Bulldog Pit.
(Photo Courtesy Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)
The Runnin' 'Dog basketball team capped off its 2024 Hobbs Holiday Classic run Saturday with a come-from-behind 54-50 win over Class 5A Farmington in the tournament's third-place game.
The Bulldogs exclusively faced 5A competition on the weekend, kicking off their holiday tourney run with a 61-48 victory over Eldorado. That moved them into a winners' bracket semifinal Friday afternoon against Cleveland, where the 'Dogs were up by eight on the Storm going into the fourth quarter before coming up just short in the end, 58-55.
Down by three after one, 17-14, six consecutive points by Charlie Campbell and a pair of Trent Egeland free throws to start the second gave Artesia a 22-17 lead. They'd bump their advantage to seven, 27-20, midway through on another Egeland free throw and a bucket apiece by Corbyn Dominguez and Tootie McNeil, but with help from a pair from beyond the arc, the Storm was able to move back in front, 32-28, with a minute to go in the half. A pair from the stripe by Campbell and a last-second trey from Steven Williams, however, sent the boys in orange into the locker room with a one-point edge, 33-32.
The Bulldogs delivered a solid third quarter, with Clay Kincaid posting seven points and Campbell six to see Artesia up by eight, 50-42, heading into the final eight minutes. There, however, the 'Dogs would struggle offensively, producing just five points as turnovers limited their opportunities. A TO at the three-minute mark saw the 'Dogs lose their lead for the first time since early in the third. A Braylon Vega free throw tied it up at 55-all, but two more late turnovers were followed by Cleveland's game-winning points: a Brycen Bowie layup and 1-2 from the line by Remy Albrecht.
That placed the Bulldogs in the tournament's third-place game Saturday afternoon against the Scorpions, where a slow start saw Artesia down 12-6 after one. The 'Dogs would cut down on their turnovers and step up their defense in the second, however, with four points apiece by Kincaid and Vega and a Jack Byers bucket bringing them within three at the break, 19-16.
Artesia spread the scoring around in the third, with Byers, Dominguez, Egeland, Vega, Kincaid and Campbell all getting in on the action, but a trio of treys from the Scorps kept them in front by four heading into the fourth, 34-30. The 'Dogs remained diligent, however, and their chipping away finally paid off in the waning minutes of the contest.
It started with a Campbell free throw, and after back-to-back buckets by Egeland and Campbell, the Bulldogs were back within one, 36-35. Another rash of turnovers briefly quieted the Artesia offense, but after a Vega drive to the hoop that kept it a one-point game, the 'Dogs would reel off 11 unanswered -- nine courtesy of Campbell and two from Egeland. The teams would then trade 2-2 showings from the line as the 'Dogs carried their fresh eight-point lead into the final minute, 50-42.
A three-pointer from Farmington's Isaac Denning cut that to five with 40 seconds left, but two more from the stripe by Vega pushed the advantage back to seven, 52-45, as did an Egeland shot off the glass off the press breaker that followed another trey by Scorp senior Landon Begay. Dinning got one last shot off for the boys in green as the buzzer sounded to round out the final, 54-50.
Campbell and Vega both finished with 14 points to lead the Bulldogs, while Begay topped all scorers with 18. Campbell was named to the All-Tournament Team for Artesia.
The 'Dogs (6-4) will now take a well-deserved break before resuming their schedule in 2025 with a 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 4, bout against Moriarty at Bulldog Pit.
STAT BOX
Artesia 54
Farmington 50
Artesia (6-4): Charlie Campbell 4, 6-10 14; Braylon Vega 3, 8-10 14; Trent Egeland 4, 0-0 8; Jack Byers 3, 0-1 6; Clay Kincaid 3, 0-0 6; Corbyn Dominguez 2, 0-2 4; Cael Houghtaling 1, 0-0 2
Totals: 20, 14-23 54
Farmington (8-4): Landon Begay 7, 2-2 18; Donathan Tracy 2, 4-4 10; Isaac Dinning 3, 0-0 8; Samuel Goats 3, 0-0 7; Sataurus Griego 2, 0-0 5; Michael Beck 1, 0-0 2
Totals: 18, 6-6 50
Field Goals: Artesia 20; Farmington 18
Three-Pointers: Artesia 0, Farmington 8 (Begay 2, Dinning 2, Tracy 2, Goats 1, Griego 1)
Free Throws: Artesia 14-23 (61%); Farmington 6-6 (100%)
Turnovers: Artesia 22; Farmington 11
Fouls: Artesia 12; Farmington 24
Fouled Out: Artesia 0; Farmington 2 (Beck-4Q; Griego-4Q)
LADY BULLDOG BASKETBALL
PICTURED: From left, Jenna Whitmire, Kailee Padilla, Ashton Craft, Gracen Kuykendall and Hattie Harrison gather on the court during Artesia's game against Carlsbad Dec. 20 at Bulldog Pit.
(Photo Courtesy Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)
The Lady Bulldog basketball team ended the 2024 portion of its schedule with a win last weekend, defeating the Lady Panthers of Class 5A Gadsden by a final of 56-39 at Bulldog Pit.
Coming off of three tough losses to 5A opponents -- 45-36 to Cleveland in the consolation final of the Joe Armijo Basketball Classic at Albuquerque Academy, 70-47 to Clovis on the road, and 58-49 in overtime to county rival Carlsbad at Bulldog Pit -- the Lady 'Dogs were looking to rebound Dec. 21 against Gadsden. They accomplished that goal with a consistent four quarters of basketball in their final pre-Christmas outing.
The first quarter was a sloppy one for both squads, with an abundance of turnovers committed. But with a trey and a bucket each from Kailee Padilla and Ashton Craft and four points from Gracen Kuykendall, the Lady 'Dogs were able to take a 15-8 lead into the second. With solid defense continuing to limit the Lady Panthers to single-digit scoring, the Artesia girls matched their 15-point effort prior to the half, draining two more treys, courtesy of Craft and Jenna Whitmire. The latter tacked on a pair of buckets in the paint to help see the squad to a 13-point advantage at intermission, 30-17.
Gadsden's Arieany Trejo staged a solo rally in the third with 11 points, while the Lady Bulldogs once again totaled 15 offensively, led by five from Whitmire. A Nylah Archie jumper and a shot off the glass at the buzzer by Avery Frederick made it 45-30 Artesia heading into the fourth. All that remained was to close things out, and with a bucket and a three from Craft, four points from Whitmire, and a Kuykendall offensive putback, the Lady Bulldogs did just that en route to a 56-39 win.
Whitmire led all scorers on the contest with 17, while Trejo was high point for the Lady Panthers with 12.
The Lady Bulldogs (4-6) will resume their campaign at 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 4, against Class 4A Taos in Taos.
STAT BOX
Artesia 56
Gadsden 39
Artesia (4-6): Jenna Whitmire 6, 4-10 17; Ashton Craft 6, 0-0 15; Kailee Padilla 3, 0-0 7; Gracen Kuykendall 2, 2-2 6; Nylah Archie 1, 0-0 2; Carmen Harvey 1, 0-0 2; Avery Frederick 1, 0-0 2; Brooklyn Fuentes 0, 2-4 2; Brookelyn Thacker 1, 0-0 2; Hattie Harrison 0, 1-2 1
Totals: 21, 9-18 56
Gadsden (4-6): Arieany Trejo 3, 4-6 12; Bustillos 2, 2-2 7; Mia Rose 3, 0-0 6; Briana Valdez 2, 2-4 6; Gisselle Rico 1, 3-6 5; Allina Marmolejo 1, 0-2 2; Desmosa 0, 1-2 1
Totals: 12, 12-22 39
Field Goals: Artesia 21; Gadsden 12
Three-Pointers: Artesia 5 (Craft 3, Padilla 1, Whitmire 1); Gadsden 3 (Trejo 2, Bustillos 1)
Free Throws: Artesia 9-18 (50%); Gadsden 12-22 (55%)
Turnovers: Artesia 25; Gadsden 26
Fouls: Artesia 17; Gadsden 18
Fouled Out: Artesia 0; Gadsden 1 (Trejo-4Q)
AHS WRESTLING
(Photos Courtesy Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)
The Artesia High School wrestling teams closed out the 2024 portion of their schedules recently with a dual against Clovis at the old boys' gym and the Rio Hondo Scuffle in Roswell.
The Bulldogs picked up a big 48-30 win over Clovis in their dual Dec. 19, with Ethan Shannon (285-pound, :23), Jason Segura (189-pound, 2:45), Edel Villa (172-pound, 3:10), Rylee Kelley (160-pound, :22), Daniel Madrid (152-pound, 3:52), Nathaniel Segura (145-pound, :11), Colt Moziejko (127-pound, 1:19) and Kevin Garcia (107-pound, 4:43) defeating their Wildcat opponents. In extras, the 'Dogs also saw match wins from Jonah Doporto, Miles Love, Judah Barrera, Jaedon Smith, Brody Rodriguez and Kevin Garcia.
At the Rio Hondo, Rylee Kelley took second overall in the 160-pound weight class. Kelley drew byes through the first and second rounds before topping Roswell High's Daniel Guevara in Round Three (3:15). Kelley bested Dominic Chavez of Hobbs in the quarterfinals (1:01) and Las Cruces High's Orbie Nabb in the semis (4:55) before squaring off with Belen's Edward Freeman in the championship, falling in 1:30.
Other results included:
• Ethan Shannon, fell to Omar Menchaca (Hobbs) in the 285-pound fifth-place match (1:17)
• Milo Schoonmaker, fell to Jonathan Ortiz (Goddard) in the 107-pound fifth-place match (1:40)
• Colt Moziejko, def. Armando Ortiz (Las Cruces High) in the 127-pound seventh-place match (2:17)
• Nathaniel Segura, def. Aden Zhuckkahosee (Alamogordo) in the 145-pound ninth-place match
• Drake Thurman, fell to Azariah Nieto (Cleveland) in the 133-pound 13th-place match (2:44)
The Lady Bulldogs came up short of Clovis Dec. 19 in Artesia, 48-18, getting wins from Mattie Smith in the 165-pound weight class (1:22), Peyton Stone in the 132-pound class (1:57), and Isabel Irvin in the 100-pound class. Katie Dowell also had a win in extras in the 185-pound class.
In the Rio Hondo Scuffle, the Lady 'Dogs got a runner-up finish from Isabel Irvin in the 100-pound weight class. Irvin notched wins over Mayfield's Adylenne Marquez (1:33), Belen's Isabela Meza (1:02), Carlsbad's Andrea Ramirez (6:20) and Goddard's Avelyn Bishop (:24) en route to the first-place match, where she came up short of Las Cruces High's Alyssa Sedillo (1:11). Peyton Stone took third overall in the 126-pound weight class with a win over Santa Fe Capital's Madelyn Rodriguez (3:02).
Other results included:
• Esmeralda Sorrells, fell to Sara G. Flores (Mayfield) in the 126-pound seventh-place match
• Pearl Bruton, def. Layla Madrid (Santa Fe Capital) in the 114-pound seventh-place match (2:51)
• Anna Lee Sorrells, fell to Michelle Gallo (Goddard) in the 107-pound ninth-place match
• Alayna Petersen, fell to Lilyana L. Ramirez (Mayfield) in the 107-pound 11th-place match (1:18)
The wrestling teams will resume competition at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 7, with duals against Roswell.