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Long Night for Raton Basketball in Clayton

By Marty Mayfield

KRTN Multi-Media

To say it was a long night for Raton basketball may be an understatement as all four Raton teams were held to less than 20 points in in each of the four games on the evening by the very aggressive brand of basketball played by Clayton.

In both the girls games Clayton played a man to man defense that often included double teams and they aggressively attacked the ball which created turnovers and often points for the Yellowjackettes. Raton was also missing Briana Pais and Natasha Ortega who were out of the game with injuries. Ortega will be back this week while Pais will be out for two weeks with an ankle injury.

The loss of these two for the night required moving up a couple of the eighth graders primarily Andie Ortega to tackle that ball handling duties for the Lady Tigers. The eighth graders did the best that could as they were playing juniors and seniors on the Clayton team. When the final buzzer sounded however the score was a disheartening 71-19.

JV Game

Raton     4    4    5    2  11

Clayton 21  19  16  20 76

Raton High Point

Kerrigan Weese 4  2 of 2 free throws

Free throws 2 of 2 attempts

Clayton High Point

Abby Lawerence 20 2 of 2 free throws

Kameryn Valdez 13  1 of 3 free throws

Amber Crisp 23 1 of 2 free throws

Varsity Game

Raton    3    8    5   4  19

Clayton 23  21 17 10  71

Raton High Point

Camryn Mileta 8  6 of 12 free throws

free throws 8 of 18 attempts

Clayton High Point

Mitzi Vital 13  5 of 5 free throws

Kathleen Sandoval 14 2 of 4 free throws

Montan Baker 12

Brook Leal 10

Free Throws 9 of 11 attempts

The JV boys game was played at Huff Gym at the High school Saturday where they faired no better than the rest of the Raton teams ending their game with a 17-74. 

The varsity boys played at Yellowjacket Gym where they too had a tough time with the taller Clayton team. The Clayton height advantage made it difficult under that basket on rebounds as well as making blocks on shots. The Yellowjackets also played an aggressive man to man defense and which, as in the girls game, included some double teaming and several turnovers that also ended up with points for Clayton. 

In the fourth quarter the Raton offense seemed to come alive as the scored the most points in the game with eight. The defense also seemed to wake up as they played more aggressively and it payed off with more turnovers and rebounds. 

The final score however was far from what Raton wanted, but better than the other final scores with a 65-16 tally at the buzzer.   Raton fans take heart though in the fact none of the teams gave up the effort and there are continued moments of good basketball and a strong core of younger players getting quality playing time which bodes well for Raton’s future.

JV Game

Raton     4    5    2    6  17

Clayton 11  26  15  12  74

Raton High Point

Christian Snyder 7

Free Throws 0 for 1 attempt

Clayton High Point

B Vallegos 24

G Tarin 12 

K Leal 10 0 for 2 free throws

Free Throws 1 of 4 attempts

Varsity Game

Raton     2   1    4   8  15

Clayton 21 19 10 15  65

Raton High Point

Austin Jones 4 2 of 3 free throws

Free Throws 4 of 9 attempts

Clayton High Point

Jorge Leos 10 1 of 2 free throws

Mark Crane 14 2 of 2 free throws

Free Throws 8 of 14 attempts

Mason Crisp (15) and Bri Fong tangle with Daisy Earle for the ball during the JV game in Clayton Saturday night
Mason Crisp (15) and Bri Fong tangle with Daisy Earle for the ball during the JV game in Clayton Saturday night

 

From the jump ball it would be a Clayton ball game as Montana Baker easily out jumps Tarryn Trujillo to start the girl's varsity game
From the jump ball it would be a Clayton ball game as Montana Baker easily out jumps Tarryn Trujillo to start the girl’s varsity game

 

Camryn Mileta (1) was high point for Raton with only eight points with six of those coming from the free throw line where she went 50% or made six of 12 attempts
Camryn Mileta (1) was high point for Raton with only eight points with six of those coming from the free throw line where she went 50% or made six of 12 attempts

 

Austin Jones goes up for the shot, Austin was high point with only four points on the evening for Raton.
Austin Jones goes up for the shot, Austin was high point with only four points on the evening for Raton.

 

Koy Geary gets a hand on the ball as Gabe Martinez goes up for the shot.
Koy Geary gets a hand on the ball as Gabe Martinez goes up for the shot.

 

Jodus Gonzales drives for the basket in YellowJacket Gym as Koy Geary follows for the block.
Jodus Gonzales drives for the basket in YellowJacket Gym as Koy Geary follows for the block.

 

Jonathan Cabrieles (4) gets a hand on the ball as Irving Tarin (20) goes up for the shot Saturday evening in Yellowjacket Gym
Jonathan Cabrieles (4) gets a hand on the ball as Irving Tarin (20) goes up for the shot Saturday evening in Yellowjacket Gym
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