The Runnin’ ‘Dogs made the final contest of their 2023-24 regular-season schedule count Tuesday on the road, logging a big 81-59 win over fellow Class 4A squad Santa Teresa.
“I was really pleased with the way we came out for our last game before district,” head coach Michael Mondragon said Wednesday. “I thought we shot the ball extremely well, and I thought we guarded extremely well for the most part.
“We’re slowly getting to that point of starting to put everything together. The guys are learning from each other, learning the offense, trusting each other, and any time you can win a 4A game on the road, it’s a good thing, especially in the fashion we did.”
Both teams were a little slow out of the gate offensively, with Artesia leading the Desert Warriors 6-3 midway through the first quarter. But the ‘Dogs put on the dog down the stretch, outscoring Santa T. 14-2 in the final minutes of the period with help from four points apiece from Charlie Campbell and Rickey Armendariz, a David Hammond layup, and a trey from Diego Wesson.
Desert Warrior standout Erik Saldana spent some time in the second showing off his acting prowess and earned a trio of trips to the line for his trouble, going 5-6. That combined with a three-pointer helped Santa Teresa hang with Artesia through the final minutes of the first half.
With seven points from Wesson, however, and six from Jarren Wadkins, the Bulldogs were able to bump their lead to 14, 35-21, at the break.
The Desert Warriors upped their offensive game in the second half, but it did them no good, as the ‘Dogs continued their onslaught from the field
Six points in the paint from Clay Kincaid and five each from Wesson and Wadkins saw the boys in orange outscore Santa T. 23-18 in the third to carry a 19-point advantage into the fourth, 58-39. There, both teams would drain a trio from beyond the arc — with Wadkins accounting for two of Artesia’s treys and Zane Baize for the third — as Artesia again outdid the Warriors in a high-scoring eight-minute shootout, 23-20, for the 81-59 win.
“I really like the way we’re shooting the ball here recently,” Mondragon said. “I think we’re shooting with a lot more confidence, and I also really like the way we’re playing as a team. I think everybody’s rotating well on defense, and on the offensive end, everybody’s learning the plays and the execution is just better. Obviously it’s still not as good as we want it to be, but we’re continuing to get better each game, and that’s what we want.”
Wesson finished with 20 points for Artesia Tuesday, followed by Wadkins with 19 and Campbell with 10. Saldana was high point with 22 for the Desert Warriors.
With the win, the ‘Dogs improved to 10-8 on the season as they prepare to join the Lady Bulldogs in kicking off the second season Friday against Lovington at Bulldog Pit.
“We played them early in the year, so we’re familiar with them and they’re familiar with us,” said Mondragon. “Obviously we have to slow down [Julian] Arroyo. He’s probably the key to their team, and then the big kid inside, [??] Covington, is a big piece of what they do, too. But really, it’s about what we do.
“If we take care of the ball, value the ball, execute on offense, get the shots we want, rebound, and play great defense, we’re going to be fine. District is the next phase, but everybody is still trying to improve every single game. And every opportunity we have to do that, whether it’s in practice or in a game, is important.”
Mondragon also said he hopes to see a packed house Friday at the Pit to support Artesia basketball in their District 4-AAAA openers. The Lady Bulldogs will tip off at 5:30 p.m., followed by the ‘Dogs at 7 p.m.
“We need you,” said the coach. “We haven’t been at home very much in this new year, and we’ve got three big district games coming up. So Pack the Pit; get behind these kids. You have to protect your home court in district, so we want to do everything possible to get as many wins as we can.
“We want to thank the community for all the support up to this point, and we’re looking forward to more. The guys are excited, but they’re confident. They know they have the ability to beat anybody in the state if they play four good quarters of basketball.”
Friday, Jan. 29
vs. Hobbs
The Bulldog basketball team seemed just on the verge of claiming the momentum at multiple points during Friday’s bout against Class 5A Hobbs at Bulldog Pit. But a fourth-quarter lag unfortunately spelled the difference in a four-point loss, 55-51.
Having led 28-26 at the half and down by just four, 43-39, heading into the fourth, all the ‘Dogs needed Friday was a little run. And with a raucous Homecoming crowd behind them, the stage appeared to be set.
But following an offensive putback by Clay Kincaid that made it a one-shot game, 43-41, the Artesia boys were forced to watch as their chances slowly slipped away.
After Jairus Turrubiates delivered a layup off the steal for the Eagles, the ‘Dogs missed a pair from the free-throw line, and Hobbs followed with a bucket in the paint by 6’10” center Parker Henderson and a trey from Lyric Soria — his first points of the night.
From there, Braylon Vega and Turrubiates would post back-to-back buckets as Artesia continued to struggle on both ends of the court, and by the time Diego Wesson stopped the bleeding with a jumper at the 1:30 mark, the boys in black and gold had turned a two-point edge into an 11-point cushion, 54-43.
The ‘Dogs would outdo the Eagles from there, but time simply wasn’t on their side. Wesson completed an old-fashioned three-point play with 1:14 to go, but it would be 30 seconds before Artesia would score again, with two misses from beyond the arc for Hobbs and one for the Bulldogs in between.
Nye Estrada came through with an offensive putback to trim the deficit to six, but although Hobbs would travel with 20 seconds remaining, Artesia missed another three-point attempt and was forced to foul. After the Eagles converted one of two free throws, Charlie Campbell would power into the paint for a successful and-one, and Hobbs got nothing out of its next trip to the stripe.
But with just seven seconds left on the clock and the Eagles’ lead at four, the ‘Dogs would have needed two shots with time for just one — another longball attempt that sailed off the mark.
It was a frustrating finish following a solid first half that had seen Artesia power past the Eagles in the second quarter, 18-13, to take the lead at the half.
Baskets by Jarren Wadkins, Campbell and Wesson had given the Bulldogs a slight leg up in the opening quarter Friday, 6-5, but shots in the paint in the final minutes by David Hammond and Kincaid were answered by eight points from Hobbs to make it 13-10 Eagles going into the second.
There, an offensive putback and a solid drive to the rim by Wesson sandwiched a pair of missed free throws by the Eagles, and following a Turrubiates layup, consecutive baskets by Kincaid and a Wesson three saw the ‘Dogs up by six, 21-15, at the midway point.
Hobbs rattled off nine unanswered to turn the tables, but a bucket and two from the stripe by Campbell and an Estrada trey put Artesia up by two at intermission, 28-26.
The Eagles were able to get eight points inside from Henderson and Turrubiates and a basket and a three from Vega in the third, however, to outdo seven points from Campbell and two each by Kincaid and Hammond, setting the stage for the dramatic fourth.
The teams both logged 22 field goals on the night, with four of Hobbs’ coming from beyond the arc, however, to Artesia’s three. Both were also 50 percent from the field, with the ‘Dogs going 4-8 and the Eagles 7-14.
Campbell earned high-point honors with 16, followed by Wesson with 14 and Kincaid with 10. Abraham Pena finished with 13 for Hobbs.