Artesia’s Rylee Jarratt sank two key foul shots in the closing second as the Artesia Bulldogs edged Las Cruces High School 47-43 on the opening night of the North-South Shootout Thursday in Artesia.
Jarratt was Artesia’s (5-7) leading scorer with 16 points. Nick Sanchez also scored in double figures for the Bulldogs with 13 points.
Thomas Hadley was Las Cruces’ leading scorer with 12 points and Bird Nevarez had 10 points in the loss.
Jarratt plays complete game for Bulldogs
The 6-foot-3 senior forward had 6 points from the foul line and head coach Michael Mondragon said Jarratt prevented the Bulldawgs (7-6) from getting close to the basket.
“He played well inside and rebounded well for us and made those big free throws (at the end of the game),” said Mondragon.
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He said Jarratt had from assistance 6-foot-6 post player Chance Campbell.
“He really frustrated their big (player Caleb Carr), he’s 6-10 and I thought he was right there with him frustrating him. All of our guys did a lot of good things,” Mondragon said.
A Campbell, a senior, had 4 points for the Bulldogs.
Artesia’s season coming together?
Thursday’s win stopped a two-game losing streak, Artesia started the season 0-3 before attaining the first win of the season Dec. 9 38-35 at Los Lunas Valencia.
Competitors in 4A, Artesia has seven large schools on the schedule this year, including three games against in-county rival Carlsbad.
The Bulldogs face 5A competitors Roswell and Hobbs before District 4-4A play starts at Lovington Jan. 27.
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“You want to be the best you’ve got to play the best,” Mondragon said. “We know we’re playing the best right now and it’s going to make us sharper. The best teams make you get better, they push you and I know it’s going to payoff once we get to district.”
Closer look at North-South Shootout
Mondragon described the three-day basketball event in Artesia as a round robin or sports competition between schools from northern and southern New Mexico.
Along with Artesia and Las Cruces, Los Alamos, Goddard, Belen, Taos, and Lovington are participants which concludes Saturday at 1:30 p.m. with the Bulldogs facing Belen.
Mike Smith can be reached at 575-628-5546 or by email at [email protected] or @ArgusMichae on Twitter.
