Ramon Roybal goes in for a layup in the first period. Roybal was the high point shooter for the Toppers with 19 points. The Toppers played Artesia Friday night in Griffith Gymnasium and won 70-62. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
Michael Naranjo had a big night on both defense and offense and he was credited with 15 points. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
Coach Mike Kluke is interviewed after the game by Los Alamos Daily Post Sports Editor RJ Montaño. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
The Los Alamos Boys’ basketball team split a pair of home games against Artesia and Lovington over the weekend, showing signs of brilliance and complacency from one match to the other.
In front of one of the best home crowds of the season, the ‘Toppers came from behind Friday night to beat Artesia 70-62.
Los Alamos jumped out to a quick start behind Gavin Campos’ seven first-quarter points, taking a 15-10 lead.
Artesia put the brakes on and held the ‘Toppers to four second-quarter points on a 13-4 run to take a 23-19 halftime lead. Los Alamos only managed to get two field goals while missing three free throws. Turnovers and missed shots was the theme for the second quarter.
The ‘Toppers came out of the halftime break a different team. Confidence in the shot and defense was flowing, and energy from the crowd was feeding into a huge run. Los Alamos outscored the Bulldogs 28-16 in the third quarter behind five three-pointers to take a 47-39 lead.
Artesia made one last run behind the Bulldogs guard Cody Smith’s 14 fourth-quarter points, cutting the ‘Topper lead to two points with three minutes to go, but Los Alamos would find a way to get to the line and hit 12 free throws to close out the fourth for the win.
The game was a rematch of a first round game at the Poe Corn Roswell tournament this season. Los Alamos held a 15-point halftime lead only to lose the lead and the game 52-43.
“You cannot count Artesia out. They’re big, they’re physical, they’re scrappy,” Head Coach Mike Kluk said after the game. “You take your foot off the brake even once, they’re coming back at you. You can’t let up against them.”
“We got away from [the gameplan] in the second quarter. We dribbled less north south and more east west,” Kluk said about the second quarter slump. “We quit attacking them, but [Artesia] buckled down on the defensive end.”
Ramon Roybal, who scored 16 of his 19 points in the second half, led Los Alamos in scoring. “The first half I jammed my thumb and I didn’t feel too good, but my teammates got me involved in the second half and we just kept it going from there,” Roybal said after the game.
Campos and Michael Naranjo each added 15 points. Antonio Trujillo chipped in 9 points, all in the second half, including 5-5 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter.
Ivan Balakirev added 7, David Owen had 3, and Troy Hammock chipped in a late field goal to finish with 2 points.
“When we’re healthy, we’re a scary team,” Roybal added.
Lovington
After an emotional and intense win over Artesia the night before, Los Alamos came into the game against Lovington with some confidence. The ‘Toppers led the Wildcats 12-11 after the first quarter, and then the wheels fell off the bus.
Multiple unforced ‘Topper turnovers and poor shot selection helped Lovington build a 34-22 halftime lead.
Los Alamos was able to get the lead down to eight points midway through the third quarter, but couldn’t maintain as Lovington went on a 20-4 run to close out the third quarter.
The ‘Toppers played all the underclassmen for much of the fourth quarter while they were down 30 points.
From Kluk’s perspective, it was a “letdown game – we started off okay, but we lost our momentum and never got it back. We got within eight points in the third quarter, but then the wheels fell off again.”
When asked if the game against Artesia only 18 hours prior to the Lovington game had anything to do with the performance, Kluk didn’t have an answer. “I asked them if it was physical, did you feel tired, and they said ‘no’ so I don’t know. It appears they put all their effort into Artesia, and I think they thought Lovington was not as good as Artesia and therefore they were going to roll over today, but Lovington came in and proved different.”
Gavin Campos drives in for a shot. He had 15 points for the game. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
Troy Hammock blocks another shot. He had a big night on defense. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
Antonio Trujillo turns the corner under the Topper basket. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
Gavin Campos was a dominate force on offense and defense, he had a big night gathering in rebounds and playing outstanding offense. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
The Topper defense steps up the pace in the closing moments of the game to maintain their lead. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com