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
