Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
A 20-10 second-quarter surge gave the highly touted Clayton boys basketball team a double-digit lead it largely would maintain during a 74-63 non-district victory Thursday at Logan.
The Longhorns trailed the Yellowjackets just 19-15 after one period, but Clayton’s big rally in the second quarter gave it a 39-25 lead at intermission.
Logan at one point whittled Clayton’s advantage to eight early in the third period. The Yellowjackets responded with a rally of their own to build their lead back up to 20 during the quarter.
“Clayton is a very talented team,” Logan coach Kyle Griffiths said. “We didn’t shoot the ball well from the floor, and the time off for the (Christmas) break hurt us a little bit.
“Boys didn’t give up, and they fought to the end.”
Park Strong led the Longhorns with 16 points, and Kaeden Stoner added 15.
Logan, ranked sixth in Class 1A by MaxPreps.com, fell to 9-3.
Clayton (10-1) is ranked second in Class 2A by MaxPreps. Its only loss was a 57-51 decision against perennial Class 1A contender Melrose.
EPAC tourney
Logan earned the No. 3 seed for this week’s Plateau EPAC Tournament, with the Longhorns facing sixth-seeded Grady at 7:30 p.m. Thursday during the opening round at Logan High School.
Subsequent games on Friday and Saturday will be played at Texico High School.
Fort Sumner is the top seed, while Dora is the No. 2 seed.