For the majority of the opening quarter Tuesday at Roswell High, the Bulldog basketball team proved themselves capable of hanging with the top-ranked Coyotes.
The Artesia boys came out strong, using solid defensive pressure to limit Roswell offensively while converting shots both in and out of the paint to take a lead that held until the final minute-and-a-half of the period.
But as the Coyotes settled into their home-court comfort zone, they began luring the ‘Dogs into a track meet that threw the Artesia shooters off their rhythm. And with the boys in orange going just 2-14 from the field in the second quarter, Roswell was able to quickly compile a 20-point lead they continued to build on in the second half en route to a 74-37 decision.
“I was really pleased with the way we came out last night,” Artesia head coach Michael Mondragon said today. “We came out and hit them in the mouth, and that was nice to see. But I think the thing that really hurt us all night was that we tried to conform to their pace.
“That’s something Roswell has been doing well for years and something we have to make sure we do a better job of not doing when we play them here in a couple weeks. We have to slow down and make sure we take good shots.”
Buckets inside by Taylor Null and Justin Houghtaling and a Houghtaling trey put Artesia in front at the midway point of the opening quarter Tuesday, 7-4, and a jumper and a three by Carlos Carrasco and Houghtaling offensive putback made it 14-10 Artesia as the period fell under two minutes.
But five points from Daniel Amador, a Garret Smothermon three, and a breakaway layup off the turnover by Chris Mesquita quickly combined to turn the tables, and the Coyotes led 20-14 heading into the second.
There, the ‘Dogs began to struggle from the field, missing a number of easy looks as Roswell continued to inch away.
A 7-0 run to start the quarter was broken up by another Carrasco longball that brought Artesia back within 10, 27-17, but the boys in red would outscore the ‘Dogs 12-2 in the final four minutes of the half to lead 39-19 at the break.
With Roswell scoring in bursts, a shot off the glass by Houghtaling and an Ethan Duff trey at the 4:43 mark could only interrupt the barrage as the Coyotes crept toward a 35-point gap.
Offensive putbacks by Joe Willingham and Null helped keep the clock intact, but on a free throw to start the fourth that made it 65-29, the seconds began ticking rapidly away.
As the Coyotes – who clearly needed no assistance but were sent to the free-throw line 22 times on the game anyway to Artesia’s five – played out much of the final quarter from the stripe, the Bulldogs were able to put together a 8-1 run with four points from Houghtaling and two each from Duff and Alan Cosio to briefly trim the deficit, but Roswell would coast from there to the 37-point win.
Houghtaling led the ‘Dogs with 14 points on the night, followed by Carrasco with 10, and Amador topped all scorers with 28.
“I love the way the boys competed last night,” said Mondragon. “They never quit, and they played their tails off. But Roswell has really good basketball players who shoot the ball extremely well, and you can’t give them any opportunities, especially with a turnover or a bad shot.
“That leads to easy points for them, so trying to play them a little too fast hurt us in the long run.”
The Bulldogs (9-10, 1-1) will now set their sights on district rival Goddard. The Rockets stand at 13-8 on the year, 1-1 in district play following a 94-65 loss to Roswell Jan. 29 and a 66-59 win over Lovington Tuesday.
Artesia defeated Goddard 33-28 Dec. 12 in the fifth-place game of the City of Champions Classic but will be looking to face an improved Rocket squad Friday.
“It’s Goddard,” said Mondragon. “You want to beat Goddard any chance you get, and if I had to pick one team in our district I think our town really likes to beat, it’d be them. We’re just going to go back to the drawing board as far as being sure we’re set, fix the things we didn’t do very well last night, and come out Friday and put some good shooting together in their gym.
“They’re very talented at the guard position. They have three really good guards and we just have to limit their touches, because they’re really good at getting to the rim. They’re a good basketball team, and like we said last week, district’s a grind. We just have to go out and keep getting better, keep competing and giving ourselves an opportunity to win some of these games on the road by taking care of the ball and doing those fundamental things correctly.”
The ‘Dogs will tip off at 7 p.m. Friday against the Rockets at Ground Zero.
“I’d really like to see a big crowd there Friday night,” said Mondragon. “This is a big game for us, and if we can get everybody in town to go up to Roswell, get something to eat, and go see a great high school basketball game, that would be huge for us.
“We continue to thank everybody for the support, and hopefully there’ll be a big crowd of Artesia faithful up there Friday to support Artesia basketball.”
