Scoring slump sinks Tucumcari

Tucumcari's scoring drought in the second quarter was all Clayton needed during its 59-50 victory Thursday in the Rattlers' annual Homecoming game at the Snake Pit.

Tucumcari's problems with inconsistent play and missing point-blank shots persisted, and coach John Span said time is running out for his team to remedy those before district play begins on Feb. 1 at Dexter.

Span insisted his team is better than its 5-12 record, and Thursday's loss inspired a litany of laments - especially after Clayton scored 12 unanswered points to turn a 21-16 Tucumcari lead into a 28-21 deficit. The Yellowjackets (10-4) rarely trailed by less than double digits the rest of the way.

"I don't know ... I'm at a loss for words," Span said. "I told the guys, we're losing games we shouldn't be losing. Turnovers, easy shots we miss inside ... We're up by six, and it just turns and we're down by seven. I just don't understand it.

"We've got to take care of the ball. They don't do anything, and we're still turning the ball over. And then we're trying to do stuff when it's not there. Kick it back outside instead of throwing up some off-the-wall shot.

"We're not consistent; we have to have the same effort the whole game. We're not good enough to take a quarter off or take a break. We have to play hard every second.

"But we're not going to stop working. We're going to practice tomorrow. Hopefully, we'll figure it out."

Clayton coach Joey Montoya agreed with Span's assessment of the potential of the Rattlers.

"I've watched their games," Montoya said. "They're right there with everybody, but they just haven't pulled it out. They're competitive in every game."

Andrew Henderson-Clark led Tucumcari with 17 points, and Curtis Gonzales added 15.

Clayton coach Joey Montoya said he made his team aware of point guard Gonzales and keeping him from knifing through his defense.

"I knew he would try to break us down, so I knew we wanted to stay back in a 2-3 zone," he said.

The Yellowjackets endured a sluggish start where they trailed 10-4 midway through the first quarter and 21-16 in the second period.

"Coach Span slowed down the pace of the game, and we wanted to go hard without pressing," Montoya said.

"We got into a foul trouble a little bit early, but our bench came through," he added. "That's what we've been relying on for most of the year. We have a good, solid 10, and it really showed tonight.

"Coach Span had to go to his bench early because of foul trouble. Whenever I saw them having to sub some of their bigger kids out, it helped us."

Rylan Ruff led Clayton with 21 points.

Santa Rosa 64, Tucumcari 57

Span said his Rattlers had another win within its grasp during a 64-57 loss Jan. 18 at Santa Rosa.

The Lions had just six free-throw attempts, while the Rattlers totaled 24. But Tucumcari's advantage at the foul line was blunted by converting just 15.

"We missed more free throws than we lost by," Span said. "We're getting to the line because we're doing what we want to do. But we have to make free throws.

"And that doesn't even count the easy shots we miss right underneath the basket," he added. "That doesn't count the turnovers we throw away and we don't get a shot."

Gonzales led Tucumcari with 17 points. Henderson-Clark and Dominick Jasper each scored 16.

Santa Rosa improved to 10-6.