Mules @ Texico Tournament (12-29-31-2014)

Mules @ Texico Tournament (12-29-31-2014)

The Mules may have had too much turkey and dressing for Christmas dinner to play the Tucumcari Rattlers Monday in the Texico Wolverine Tournament. The Mules trailed the Rattlers 28-27 at the half but the Rattlers dominated in the second half to take the game 61-45.

The Mules bounced back to pluck the Eunice Cardinals in Consolation bracket 56-37 and all but tripled the Capitan Tigers 72-25 to bring home the Consolation trophy in time to celebrate the start of 2015.

Dagen Dunham and Jason Florez led the Mules in the losing cause against Tucumcari. Danny Campos broke the scoring ice for the Mules with a pair of free throws in the opening period. He added a pair of baskets later in the period for all six of his points in the game.

Florez made a pair of hoops in the opening frame and JJ Gandara drained a 3-pointer from the corner. Blayne Shipman made one from the charity line. Dunham made a lay up to finish a fast break and the Mules led 16-15 after one period. 

Gandara dished to Dunham to finish a break to open the second quarter. Dunham stuck back a pair of offensive rebounds later in the period. Tony Castillo sank a trey and Josh Lopez drove coast-to-coast for a basket. The Mules trailed 28-27 at the intermission.

The Rattlers were hot in the second half and out scored the Mules 33-18 for the win.

Dunham led the Mules with 14 points and Florez finished with 11. Castillo made a pair of treys for his six points and Campos had all six of his points in the first quarter. Gandara made a trey in the opening period for his three points. Lopez and Grey Johnson made two points each and Shipman chipped in one point.

The Mules opened their game against Eunice with a 10-0 scoring run. Florez led the charge for the Mules in the game but only scored two points in the first period. Campos scored the Mules first basket and chipped in a free throw later in the quarter.

Dunham hit a bucket from the blocks extended and later added one from the free throw line. Gandara got the ball to Shipman on the blocks and he turned in the lane and scored. Lopez followed the lead of Campos and Dunham with a basket and a charity toss.

Wesley Clarkson ended the first period with a 3-pointer from the corner. The Mules led 16-4 after one quarter. 

Florez put the pedal to the medal in the second period and opened the frame with a drive from the right side for a hoop. Dunham saw Florez breaking through the back door and made the pass to him. Florez kissed the ball off the glass for a hoop.

As the quarter ticketed away Florez added a third hoop, made two free throws and sank a 3-pointer for 11 points in the period. The Cardinals left Dunham open on the arc and he nailed a 3-pointer. Castillo chipped in a free throw. The Mules led 33-13 at the half.

The Cardinals made a run at the Mules in the half but the Mules held them at arms length for the win.

Florez led the Mules with 19 points and Campos finished with 10 points. Dunham scored all eight of his points in the first three periods. Clarkson added a trey in the final period for six points, Castillo dropped in five points and Lopez made four. Shipman and Johnson chipped in two points each.

The Mules tamed the Tigers of Capitan in the opening period by racing out to a 23-5 lead. After two more period the Mules had the Tigers sitting quietly on a stool and scored no points while the Mules poured in 18.

Just 18 seconds into the game Campos had the Mules on the board with a basket. He had added two more hoops by the end of the quarter. The Mules dominated the boards and made six put-back hoops.

Castillo and Campos paced the Mules with 14 points each. Dunham and Florez finished with 12 points apiece. Johnson scored all six of his points with three hoops in a span of minute and a half in the final period.

Tony Vasquez and Gandara added four points each. Clarkson, Lopez and Jesse Leal chipped in two points each.

The Mules finally had a home game Tuesday, January 6, when they hosted the Bovina Mustangs. The Mules remain at home Friday to host the always tough Idalou Wildcats. The game times have changed for the Idalou games with the JV Mules playing at 5:00 PM and the Mules take the floor at 6:30.