Four male and one female high school bowler in orange-black-and-white uniforms pose for a photo at a bowling alley.

AHS Weekend Sports Wrap

Brienne Green

January 5, 2025

BULLDOG BASKETBALL

A male high school basketball player in a white-and-orange uniform holds the ball over his head as he prepares to release it in mid-air.

PICTURED: Braylon Vega puts up a jumper during the first half.
(Photo Courtesy Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)

A male high school basketball player in a white-and-orange uniform releases the ball from his right hand in mid-air as an opponent in a green uniform attempts to block from behind.

PICTURED: Tootie McNeil prepares to lay one off the glass as he's fouled by Moriarty's Aidyn Pacheco.
(Photo Courtesy Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)

The Bulldog basketball team kicked off the 2025 portion of its campaign with a big win over a same-class opponent Saturday afternoon at Bulldog Pit.

The Runnin' 'Dogs overcame a slow first quarter that saw them trailing the Pintos by one, 13-12, to finish with the 35-point mercy rule in effect, 69-32. That offensive surge was spurred by Braylon Vega and Charlie Campbell, who led all scorers on the afternoon with 19 and 18, respectively.

Moriarty took its early lead on the legs of a trio of three-pointers in the opening eight minutes. Vega countered with one of his own midway through, and with help from a Jack Byers offensive putback and a Campbell layup late, Artesia was within one going into the second, 13-12. There, the 'Dogs would step up their game on both ends of the court, holding the Pintos to just five points while posting 23 of their own. A basket and a three, followed by a breakaway layup and two from the free-throw line, by Campbell combined with six buckets in the paint from Trent Egeland, a Clay Kincaid short-range jumper, and old-fashioned three-point plays by Vega and Tootie McNeil to put Artesia up 35-18 at the half.

The Bulldogs kept the pedal down offensively and defensively in the third, forcing nine Pinto turnovers while again holding Moriarty to five points. The 'Dogs opened the second half with a 7-0 run that included a pair of baskets from Kincaid and a Vega trifecta and got another bomb from beyond the arc from Vega midway, sandwiched by buckets from Kincaid and Egeland. The boys in orange then closed the period with seven unanswered on back-to-back baskets by Vega and a McNeil three.

A Campbell trey midway through the fourth -- his seventh points of the quarter -- set the clock in motion and brought the contest to a quick end, as Byers and McNeil delivered late buckets to put the finishing touches on the 69-32 victory.

With the win, the Class 4A fifth-ranked Runnin' 'Dogs improved to 7-4 on the season. They'll now prepare to join the Lady Bulldogs in heading to Cave Country Tuesday, Jan. 7, for Part II of the Eddy County War series. The Lady 'Dogs will tip off at 6 p.m. and the 'Dogs at 7:30 p.m.

STAT BOX

Artesia 69
Moriarty 32

Artesia (7-4): Braylon Vega 6, 4-7 19; Charlie Campbell 7, 2-4 18; Clay Kincaid 6, 0-4 12; Trent Egeland 4, 0-0 8; Tootie McNeil 3, 1-1 8; Jack Byers 2, 0-2 4
Totals: 28, 7-18 69

Moriarty (3-8): Aidyn Pacheco 4, 3-9 13; Evan Pacheco 3, 0-0 7; Jordan Brown 2, 0-0 6; Noah Gonzales 1, 0-0 2; Ray Schmutz 1, 0-0 2; Abe Sloan 1, 0-0 2
Totals: 12, 3-9 32

Field Goals: Artesia 28; Moriarty 12
Three-Pointers: Artesia 6 (Vega 3, Campbell 2, McNeil 1); Moriarty 5 (Brown 2, A. Pacheco 2, E. Pacheco 1)
Free Throws: Artesia 7-18 (39%); Moriarty 3-9 (33%)
Fouls: Artesia 13; Moriarty 17
Fouled Out: None

LADY BULLDOG BASKETBALL

A female coach in a black long-sleeved shirt and grey sweatpants holds a bottle of water as she sits in a chair and looks at a court.

PICTURED: Head coach Candace Pollard contemplates her New Year's Resolution. Click here to check out the team's goals for 2025!

The Lady Bulldog basketball team ushered in the second half of their 2024-25 season with a long road trip and a decisive win over Class 4A Taos.

The Lady 'Dogs held the Lady Tigers to single-digit scoring in three out of four quarters Saturday in Taos. And while turnovers at times limited the Artesia girls' scoring opportunities, keeping their final tally lower than it otherwise would have been, they made their buckets count in a nine-point, 41-32 win.

Both squads struggled to hand onto the ball in the opening quarter, but Jenna Whitmire got Artesia on the board first, and she'd add another basket in the paint and 2-3 from the free-throw line before period's end. Three more buckets inside -- two by Gracen Kuykendall and one from Avery Frederick -- put the Lady Bulldogs up 13-7 going into the second. A brief battle from beyond the arc that saw Taos' Julianna Flores and Alexis Moyer sandwich an Ashton Craft trey made it 16-13, and an offensive putback by Flores pulled the Lady Tigers within one midway through, 16-15. But Artesia closed out the half on an 8-3 run to head into the locker room up by six, 24-18.

The girls in orange took their largest lead of the afternoon in the third while holding Taos to just six points. Whitmire led the offensive effort with three more baskets and a free throw, which -- combined with a shot off the glass from Frederick and a pair from the stripe by Kailee Padilla -- made it 36-24 Lady Bulldogs going into the fourth. And while the Lady 'Dogs had a hard time offensively in the final eight minutes, including from the line, the Lady Tigers would score their final points of the game with 4:30 still remaining. Artesia closed out the contest from the stripe, going 3-8 to round out the final, 41-32.

Whitmire led all scorers in the bout with 13 points, followed by Kuykendall and Padilla with nine each.

The Lady Bulldogs (5-6) moved a step closer to evening their record with the win and will be looking to avenge a Dec. 20 overtime loss to Carlsbad at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 7, when they join the Bulldogs in heading south for Round II of the Eddy County War series.

STAT BOX

Artesia 41
Taos 32

Artesia (5-6): Jenna Whitmire 5, 3-8 13; Gracen Kuykendall 4, 1-4 9; Kailee Padilla 1, 7-10 9; Ashton Craft 2, 0-2 5; Avery Frederick 2, 0-0 4; Brookelyn Thacker 0, 1-2 1
Totals: 14, 12-26 41

Taos (4-7): Julianna Flores 4, 0-0 9; Jasmine Mondragon 3, 0-1 7; Alexis Moyer 2, 1-4 6; Santana Casias 1, 0-0 3; Ciera Castillo 0, 3-4 3; Ashlee Romero 1, 0-0 3; Coco Sanchez 0, 1-2 1
Totals: 11, 5-11 32

Field Goals: Artesia 14; Taos 11
Three-Pointers: Artesia 1 (Craft); Taos 5 (Casias 1, Flores 1, Mondragon 1, Moyer 1, Romero 1)
Free Throws: Artesia 12-26 (46%); Taos 5-11 (45%)

AHS BOWLING

Four male and one female high school bowler in orange-black-and-white uniforms pose for a photo at a bowling alley.Five male high school bowlers in orange-black-and-white uniforms pose for a photo at a bowling alley.
PICTURED: At top, Artesia #1 poses for a photo after winning the Advanced Division of Saturday's bowling tournament at Starlight Lanes in Bernalillo. Above, Artesia #2 finished third in the Advanced competition.
(Photos Courtesy Ken Clayton)

Artesia #1 came away with a big win Saturday in the Advanced Division of the New Mexico High School Bowling Association's Week Six tournament at Starlight Lanes in Bernalillo.

The squad took the overall title with a total pin count of 3,450, while Artesia #2 came in third behind Eldorado with a 3,207. Individual scores included:

• Payton DeMerritt: 255-220=475 (237)
• Ayden Gomez: 147-278=425 (212)
• Kambry Collins: 203-193=396 (198)
• Hagen Murph: 171-205=376 (188)
• Brent McIntire: 140-199=339 (169)

• Brenden Depew: 198-201=399 (199)
• Mason Jeter: 202-181=383 (191)
• Damian Lopez: 149-223-372 (186)
• Chase Collins: 179-183=362 (181)
• Jace Miles: 167-181=348 (174)

The Intermediate Division saw Artesia #5 come in fourth with a team score of 2,598, followed by Artesia #3 in sixth (2,574) and Artesia #4 in 10th (2,376). Those teams' individual scores included:

• Darius Mendoza: 139-209=348 (174)
• Talyn Pacheco: 148-143=291 (145)
• Alejandro Bahena: 169-121=290 (145)
• Ayden Dean: 112-149=261 (130)
• Jody Roberts: 107-146=253 (126)

• Gael Ruiz: 168-144=312 (156)
• Diego Molina: 130-179=309 (154)
• Sebastian Gonzalez: 149-143=292 (146)
• Adam Longoria: 155-137=292 (146)
• Axel Hartley: 137-142=279 (139)

• Ayden Huffman: 119-211=330 (165)
• Maggie Morris: 169-141=310 (155)
• Grant Johnson: 123-149=272 (136)
• Destiny Powell: 137-135=272 (136)
• Mia Duran: 79-119=198 (99)

Artesia #6 and Artesia #7 rounded things out for the Bulldogs in the Novice Division, with the former finishing second with a 2,226 and the latter eighth with a 1,425.

• Elliott Gonzales: 168-178=346 (173)
• Kaine McCall: 162-103=265
• Sophie Kitchen: 138-101=239 (119)
• Jackson Parker: 141-86=227 (113)
• Edwin Villarreal: 120-107=227 (113)

• Justin Rodriguez: 108-123=231 (115)
• Peyton Troost: 132-91=223 (111)
• Phoebe Green: 113-77=190 (95)

Next on the NMHSBA docket is a tournament at Silva Lanes in Albuquerque on Saturday, Jan. 11.

Four male and one female high school bowler in orange-black-and-white uniforms pose for a photo at a bowling alley.
PICTURED: Artesia #6 poses for the camera after placing second in the Novice Division.
(Photo Courtesy Ken Clayton)