Clovis dominates Portales behind Isler's 37
Published: Tuesday, December 18th, 2007
The Clovis Wildcats dominated the Portales Rams so completely Tuesday, Clovis senior guard Jaden Isler (26) had more points at halftime than host Portales (24) did all night.
Isler finished with 37 points, including a school record nine 3-pointers, as the visiting Clovis Wildcats defeated Portales 75-24.
The Wildcats hit 14 treys as a team.
Clovis coach J.D. Isler didn’t expect that kind of production from his Wildcats (5-0).
“They didn’t look like they were shooting that good in warm-up,” Isler said. “We’ve actually only had four practices, but we just got good looks and knocked the shots down. We do have good shooters but we just shot really well tonight.”
The Wildcats made quick work of the Rams, taking a quick 9-0 lead on all 3-pointers.
“They’re always going to shoot well,” Portales junior guard Nick Bliss said. “I felt comfortable that we could win this game. We have a good enough team.”
Portales head coach Mark Gallegos was ejected after receiving two technical fouls early in the second quarter. Under New Mexico Activities Association rules, he will be required to sit out Thursday’s game at Carlsbad.
“We just came out scared,” Bliss said. “Our efforts came up short. We have a good team, but we didn’t show it tonight.”
Isler began his scoring assault in the first period hitting two three-pointers and leading Clovis to a 17-7 lead after the first quarter. He put up 18 in the second, with four treys and six free throws — including a buzzer-beating trey to give the Wildcats a 51-16 lead at the break.
“When you get behind, you start pressing a little bit and I thought us having the lead early helped us,” Isler said.
Late in the game, with Clovis leading by more than 50 points, the Wildcats had emptied the bench — with one exception. Isler was still on the court having tied the school record for three-pointers in a game.
“(The) kids asked me to put him in to see if he could get the record, and so I did that,” Isler said.
Senior guard Bryce Hill had 15, while junior forward Jaye Crockett scored 12.
Bliss and Marcus Slocum led the Rams with nine points each.
The Rams (1-2) travel to Carlsbad Thursday.
“We’re coming back and we’re playing another hard 5A team and we’re playing a lot of good teams right off the bat and that’s just to make us better,” Portales guard Walker Partin said.
Clovis (5-0) welcomes Goddard Saturday before hosting the Milk Cow Classic later this month.
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