Rattlers sweep at Grady Tournament
By Chris Schmaedeke and Thomas Garcia
Quay County Sun
The Tucumcari boys basketball team used an up-tempo style to earn their first win of the year, 60-40 against Grady on Friday night.
The Rattlers, who were scheduled to play Grady Thursday but had the game postponed due to snow, had lost their first two game before winning on Grady’s home floor. The game was part of Grady’s Round Robin Tournament.
“We played really well,” Rattlers senior Alex Hutchins, who had nine points, said. “After losing the first two it feels good to get a win.”
Tucumcari (1-2) had three players in double figures. Jantzen Darnell led the team with 18, Jakus Martinez had 15 and Travis Garcia finished with 13. The up-tempo style helped the Rattlers jump out to a 15-point lead at halftime.
“We were getting up and down the court,” Rattlers coach John Span said. “Our up-tempo game was working.”
Not only the fast pace game was working for the Rattlers. Hutchins and Garcia were able to dominate in the paint. Something the Rattlers can’t do to a lot of teams because of their lack of size.
“We were fortunate to be able to use our size,” Span said. “There are not many teams that we are bigger then.”
Jared Allen, who tried to get his team back in the game in the third quarter, lead Grady with 13 points as the Bronchos dropped to 0-5. After the Bronchos cut the lead to 11, Span called a time-out to settle his team down. The Rattlers never let the Bronchos get any closer.
Tucumcari will play Fort Sumner at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday as the tournament continues.
Girls
The Tucumcari Lady Rattlers win big 50-12 Friday night against the Fort Sumner junior varsity Lady Vixens at Grady's Round Robin Tournament.
"It was an ugly win," said Lady Rattlers head coach Gary Hittson. "We did not shot well from the paint and did not capitalize on the turnovers."
In fact the Lady Rattlers were 15-42 inside the paint, that is 27 missed shots worth 54 points.
"We need to concentrate on the shot and not just throw it up there," said Lady Rattler's junior Laura Fought. "We need to finish plays and score when we are under our basket."
Fought lead the Lady Rattlers with 21 points, followed by sophomore Michelle Fazekas with 8 points.
"We can't keep missing the easy shots," Hittson said. "We have a lot of work to do. The girls are going to play against some tough teams that won't give them a second look or the open shot so easily."
The Lady Rattlers defense held the lady Vixens to 12 points, six in each half of the game. Sophomore Victoria Sena lead the Lady Vixens with 7 points and Ashley Landerth had 5 points.
"Practice, a lot of practice and hard work is what the girls need," Hittson said. "They can't let that many points go if they want to win down the stretch."
The Lady Rattlers will face the Grady Lady Bronchos at 7 p.m. today at Grady.
