By Marty Mayfield
KRTN Multi-Media
Tucumcari boys and girls for the first time are both in first place in District 5AAA and Saturday night proved why they are in first place with wins over Raton. Note: (After last night’s Santa Rosa wins over Clayton Tucumcari girls are in first with Tucumcari boys being tied for first with Santa Rosa)
Both the Raton JV girls and boys played their games at the same time with similar results as Tucumcari came out and started the scoring first and kept it going in both games. The Raton girls started out cold and only posted a single point on the board in the first with a free throw from Marklyn Pacheco. It didn’t go much better for the remainder of the game as Tucumcari ended the girl’s game with a 48-27 win.
Over at Russel Marcy Academy where the boys JV game took place it wasn’t much better than the girls as Tucumcari came out and scored 44 points to Raton’s 12. Second half action was much better for Raton as Tucumcari played the bench. Once the final buzzer sounded it was a 59-41 win for Tucumcari.
JV Girls
Tucumcari 19 9 10 10 48
Raton 1 9 11 6 27
JV Boys
Tucumcari 21 23 5 10 59
Raton 4 8 15 14 41
The varsity girls took to the court and with another slow start for Raton as Tucumcari scored first and put on the pressure holding Raton to only eight while Kayla French knocked down two 3-pointers for six of Tucumcari’s 15 points. Second quarter action saw the Lady Tigers continue to miss the basket as Tucumcari blocked shots and kept Raton from rebounding. It didn’t help Raton any either as Alyssa Martinez and Maribell Lopez dropped in two 3-pointers each for 12 of the Lady Rattlers 24 points. At half it was a 39-14 Tucumcari game.
Second half action looked better for Raton as they came out and actually outscored Tucumcari by four with help at the free throw as Raton knocked down five of 10 free throws. Fourth quarter action saw both teams stay in single digit scoring but the first half was too much for Raton to overcome as they Tucumcari showed why they are in first place with a 61-39 win.
Tucumcari 15 24 13 9 61
Raton 8 6 17 8 39
Tucumcari High Point
Alyssa Martinez 17 2 o2 free throws 3 3-pointers
Salani French 23 1 of 2 free throws 3 3-pointers
Free throws 10 of 24 attempts
Raton High Point
Estrella Vargas 9 5 of 6 free throws
Free throws 12 of 25 attempts
For the Raton boys it was a chance to redeem their 55-17 loss to Tucumcari as they came out strong in the first half of the game and at one point actually lead by three. Tucumcari soon took the lead back but never really gained the momentum to crush the Tigers. Both teams played a good defensive game keeping the scoring down until late into the second quarter when Tucumcari started to find their rhythm and hit the bucket.
Third quarter action changed the pace of the game as Tucumcari came out and pressed the Tigers which resulted in turnovers and fast breaks for points for the Rattlers. Tyler Ferguson helped out by ripping three 3-pointers for nine of the 29 third quarter points Tucumcari posted. That seemed to be the point the Raton boys gave up. it didn’t help the Tigers either that Jonathan Cabrieles and Dillon Lemons were out with injuries and probably won’t be back for District play in a couple of weeks.
As the game too slowly came to an end for Raton as Tucumcari marked the win column once again with a 61-40 win.
Tucumcari 9 16 29 7 61
Raton 7 9 15 9 40
Tucumcari High Point
Tyler Ferguson 15 3 3-pointers
John Paul Garcia 13 6 of 6 free throws
Cedric Henderson 13 2 of 5 free throws
Raton High Point
Jesse Espinoza 15 3 3-pointers
Free Throws 7 of 10 attempts
