Clovis senior Logan Turnbow traps a Artesia ballhandler in the corner during the second half of Tuesday’s non-district game at Rock Staubus Gym. Clovis beat Artesia 79-52 for its second straight win.

Clovis senior Brian Pierson hits a jumper during the first half. Pierson finished with six points and eight rebounds.

Clovis senior Tanner Adams battles Artesia's Derek Montoya for a rebound.

After snapping a three-game losing streak on Saturday at Rio Rancho, Clovis High boys coach J.D. Isler is hoping the Wildcats are back on track.

Tuesday night, they rode senior post Jaye Crockett’s 44-point, 12-rebound outing to a 79-52 win over Class 4A Artesia at Rock Staubus Gym.

The Cats (12-7) used aggressive zone pressure to blitz the Bulldogs early. Artesia (16-4), which beat Hobbs earlier this month and has a rematch at Hobbs on Friday night, missed its first five shots from the field and turned the ball over six times in falling behind 9-0 in just over four minutes.

Meantime, Crockett went off from the get-go, scoring 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field to stake the Cats to a 21-11 lead at the quarter.

The 6-foot-7 Crockett, whose career high is 50 against Los Alamos in a December tournament outing, said the Cats didn’t approach this game any differently than others. He finished 18-of-29 from the floor and 8-of-10 from the foul line.

“We prepare the same for any team,” he said. “Coach just tells me to be aggressive and shoot the ball.”

Artesia mounted a brief rally in the second quarter, pulling to 23-19 on a basket by 6-2 senior post Dallas Bollema. But guard Dexter Correll’s 3-pointer kicked off a 14-4 Clovis run to end the half — Crockett had seven points in that stretch — and the Cats stayed in control the rest of the way.

Senior post Arthur Calbert had his second strong game in a row for the Cats, collecting 18 points on 8-of-15 shooting and grabbing six rebounds. Guard Stefan Mills had six assists while backup guard Bryan Pierson added six points and eight rebounds.

“Both of their posts were pretty tough on us tonight,” Artesia coach Isidro Montoya said, referring to Crockett and Calbert. “Their guards did a good job of taking care of the ball.

“Their size affected our guards a little bit (against pressure). They weren’t able to see the floor very well.”

While the Cats finished the game with 13 turnovers — only three in the second half — the Bulldogs committed 22 floor errors.

Senior guard Derek Montoya poured in 24 points for Artesia, but no one else reached double figures.

“It was really a complete game,” Isler said. “We played well from start to finish. I think this team is starting to find their roles and get more comfortable.

“Our guards were active tonight, and Arthur really shot the ball well.”

Crockett said that while the Cats seem to be playing better, they still have a tough road ahead.

“We just have to be consistent,” he said. “This is the time to start to playing like we did tonight. We’re getting close to the playoffs.”

Artesia (16-4) — Sergio Arias 2 1-2 5, Devyn Garcia 3 1-3 8, Jordan Aguilar 0 0-0 0, Ryan Elkins 0 0-0 0, Koby Caton 1 1-2 3, Kevin Chandler 1 2-2 4, Derek Montoya 9 5-9 24, Dallas Bollema 2 4-7 8, Kyle Natera 0 0-0 0. Totals 18-47 14-25 52.
Clovis (12-7) — Bryan Pierson 3-7 0-0 6, Stefan Mills 0-4 0-0 0, Dexter Correll 2-7 0-0 6, Tanner Adams 1-4 0-0 2, Jaye Crockett 18-29 8-10 44, Dustin Williams 0-0 1-2 1, Logan Turnbow 0-0 0-0 0, Arthur Calbert 8-15 1-2 18, Michael Prestage 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 33-67 10-14 79.
Artesia 11 12 15 14 — 52
Clovis 21 16 15 27 — 79
3-pointers — Artesia 2-12 (Garcia, Montoya), Clovis 3-11 (Correll 2-6, Calbert 1-1, Crockett 0-1, Pierson 0-1, Adams 0-2). Rebounds — Artesia 24, Clovis 38 (Crockett 12). Assists — Artesia n/a, Clovis 14 (Mills 6). Total fouls — Artesia 15, Clovis 16. Fouled out — Turnbow. Junior varsity — Clovis 63, Artesia 47. Sophomores — Clovis 54, Artesia 21.