Dora senior Clay Smith dribbles near the middle of the court in Wednesday's New Mexico Class 1A state quarterfinal loss to Animas.

RIO RANCHO — The Dora Coyotes didn’t come out flat. They were flattened.

The sixth-seeded Animas Panthers rebounded from an early 5-0 deficit with a 12-0 run and never looked back in an 81-61 dismantling of Dora in Wednesday’s Class 1A state boys quarterfinal at Rio Rancho High School.

Casey Jackson hit a pair of 3-pointers to give the Panthers the lead for good and scored 10 of his game-high 22 in the first quarter, which saw the Panthers establish a 17-9 lead they never relinquished.

“We didn’t come out flat, but they started hitting shot after shot until they put up a lead,” Dora coach Ty Thatcher said. “That was pretty much the game in a nutshell.”

Thatcher said every time the Coyotes mounted a rally, Animas would find a shot or get a loose ball to keep the momentum going. Panthers coach Charles Richardson attributed that to a dedication to hustle.

“One of our main themes is, ‘Every loose ball,’” Richardson said. “We’re trying to get every ball off of the floor.”

Wesley Skelley, who led Dora with 16 points, keyed a 6-0 run late in the third quarter to bring Dora to within 45-41, but Jackson answered with a pair of free throws and scored on a layup to finish a behind-the-back transition feed from Ruben Nieblas.

The Panthers hit seven 3-pointers, compared to four for the Coyotes, and forced 22 Dora turnovers.

“They’ve got a good mid-range game and shoot the ball well from 15 feet to ..... 35, it seemed like,” Thatcher said. “They did a good job in their halfcourt defense; they never gave us an easy basket.”

The Panthers move on to play Hagerman, which blew out Temple Baptist 82-52 in Thursday’s early game.
Richardson knows the Panthers have their work cut out for them.

“We’re going to have to be ready to play them,” he said. “(but) every game we play, we get a little better, and that’s what basketball is all about.”

Wednesday
Class 1A boys
Quarterfinals
At Rio Rancho H.S.

Animas 81, Dora 61

Animas (17-10) — Casey Jackson 10 1-1 22, Skyler Richins 6 0-2 15, Ruben Nieblas 4 4-4 15, Jaron Richardson 4 5-6 16, K.C. Del Peterson 1 0-0 2, Gerardo Reyes 1 0-0 2, Andrew Mora 0 1-2 1, Totals 30 14-19.
Dora (21-8) — Wesley Skelley 5 3-4 15, Hector Fierro 4 1-2 11, Kyler Smith 4 3-4 11, Sadler Hair 4 2-2 10, Lathan Lieb 2 4-4 8, Clay Smith 0 4-4 4, Jeremy Butler 1 0-0 2, Totals 20 17-20 61.

Animas  17   21      13       30  —       81
Dora       9    17      15       20      —   61

3-pointers — Animas, Nieblas 3, Richins 3, Jackson. Dora, Fierro 2, Skelley 2. Total fouls — Animas 16, Dora 18. Fouled out — none.