By J.T. Keith
Artesia Daily Press
jtkeith@elritomedia.com

After winning their sixth regular season district title, the Artesia Bulldogs have locked up the No. 2 seed in the 2025 NMAA Class 4A State Basketball Tournament.

Hoping to capture their first state title since 1997, the Bulldogs (17-9 overall, 5-1 district) will face the 15th-seeded Gallup Bengals (17-11 overall, 8-2 district) in the tournament’s opening round at 6 p.m. Saturday, March 8, at the Bulldog Pit. The winner advances to the quarterfinals in Albuquerque.

One loss in the tournament ends the season so nothing is more critical for Artesia than playing with a sense of urgency. With that in mind, Bulldogs head coach Michael Mondragon has called for a White Out, with fans dressing all in white for Saturday’s game.

The Bulldogs are coming off two consecutive defeats. They suffered a 45-40 loss at Goddard in the last district game Feb. 21 and four days later Portales beat them 58-57 in the first round of the district tournament game in Artesia.

“Everything the Bulldogs want is still in front of us,” Mondragon said. “Our regular and district schedules have prepared us for this four-game run. This a fun time of year, and we must go out there and compete our tails off.”

Here are the Bulldogs’ three keys to winning against the Bengals.

New season

Artesia must come out mentally ready to play. What has happened up to this point does not count; only the next 32 minutes matter. The biggest goal of winning the school’s first state title since 1997 is within reach with a one-game-at-a-time mentality.

“The past doesn’t matter, and the future will be what we make of it,” Mondragon said. “We have to focus on right now, and it starts with five great days of practice.”

Slow down the Gallup running game.

Artesia has to slow down the Bengals, who like to get up and down the court. Gallup wants to play fast on both ends of the court. Artesia should be able to handle the Bengals’ soft pressure on offense. When the Bulldogs shoot, they must get back on defense and not allow Gallup guard Sage Livingston and wingman Jayson Bruner to start the fast break.

Livingston and Bruner can be held in check offensively until one of them suddenly hits a shot and the other gets going. Each player feeds off the other. Each can shoot the 3-ball well, put the ball on the floor, and attack the basket.

“We are going to have to keep those two guys in check,” Mondragon said. “We have to play Bulldog basketball and be fundamentally sound in all areas of the game.”

The Bulldogs are athletic enough to play with the Bengals in the open court. The flow of the game will determine whether Artesia runs with the Bengals the entire match or picks its spots.

Dominate inside

The Bulldogs are the taller team and must play inside out on offense. Artesia must punish the smaller Bengals by getting the ball inside to 6-foot-8 Clay Kincaid, 6-foot-5 Steven Williams and 6-foot-4 Trent Egeland. On defense, Artesia must limit Gallup to one shot.

J.T. Keith can be reached at jtkeith@elritomedia.com.