PICTURED: The Bulldog basketball team poses for a photo Tuesday before departing for Albuquerque.
(Photo Courtesy Artesia Bulldog Basketball)
That first game in The Pit is always an X factor.
It's particularly so for younger squads like the 2024-25 Bulldogs, but it really doesn't matter if you've been there before. The University of New Mexico's cavernous arena is simply intimidating, with 360 degrees of noise and emotion raining down on the athletes on the court below. It isn't easy to find a rhythm there. It isn't easy to win there.
But the Runnin' 'Dogs did. And with that, they punched their ticket to the Class 4A state semifinal round.
With the exception of a brief moment in the early second quarter, the second-ranked Bulldogs were never able to pull more than nine points away from the No. 7 Valley Vikings in the contest. The Vikes had confidence gleaned from a 50-46 win over Artesia in late December, and head coach Michael Mondragon and his team knew they weren't going down without a fight. So it wasn't a surprise when the 'Dogs headed into the fourth quarter with just a slim three-point lead in hand, 33-30.
Neither team could find the basket through the opening minute of the period, but with 6:53 to go in the game, Valley was able to trim its deficit to a field goal, 33-31, on a free throw by Angelito Villa. As he did more than once in the first half, however, junior Trent Egeland stepped up at a key moment, putting down a pair of baskets in the paint and going 1-2 from the line to put the 'Dogs up by seven, 38-31, with four minutes to go.
That bit of breathing room would prove crucial, as Valley's Luciano Mondragon and Villa sandwiched a Clay Kincaid bucket with two of their own to make it 40-35. Following a scoring drought on both sides, the Bulldogs went to the line with 1:14 remaining but missed both attempts, and Mondragon hit another from the field to make it a one-shot game, 40-37.
As the 'Dogs continued to struggle with a rash of late turnovers, they were able to use up the two free fouls they had to give before Valley missed an attempt from beyond the arc. Kincaid was there for the rebound and would be fouled going the other way -- with one second left. That gave the Vikings no time to get off a shot, but it wouldn't have mattered, as Kincaid hit the second of two to set the final: 41-37.
It was a low-scoring game from start to finish, as Valley left the door open for Artesia to build a healthy lead in the opening quarter, but the 'Dogs were unable to barge through. By the 3:26 mark of the first, the score was just 8-1 in the Bulldogs' favor, with Kincaid delivering two buckets and Egeland and Charlie Campbell one each to a single free throw from Valley's Mondragon. That meant a late three by Villa was able to cut Artesia's advantage in half, 8-4, and the boys in orange would lead by just five, 10-5, going into the second on a third basket by Kincaid.
Braylon Vega delivered back-to-back jumpers to kick off that quarter, and an offensive putback from Egeland saw Artesia with its biggest lead of the night, 16-5. Another three from Villa and two from Carter Monroe, however, kept the Vikings in the mix. A trio of baskets and two from the stripe by Campbell and an Egeland jumper could only bump the 'Dogs' edge to eight by the break, 26-18.
And with the Bulldogs struggling mightily from the field in the third, the Vikings were able to make up even more ground. Mondragon opened the second half with consecutive old-fashioned three-point plays, and Villa and Ivan Jaquez countered two baskets from Kincaid and a Corbyn Dominguez three with treys of their own to see the Vikes within three, 33-30, going into the dramatic fourth.
Mondragon and Villa led all scorers on the contest with 14 apiece, while Kincaid was tops for the Bulldogs with 13, followed by Egeland with 11 and Campbell with 10.
With the big win, the Bulldogs reached Class 4A's Final Four, where they'll take on No. 3 Espanola Valley -- who defeated No. 6 Silver 69-60 tonight -- at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 13, at The Pit. Tickets are available via the University of New Mexico's ticketing site.
STAT BOX
#2 Artesia 41
#7 Valley 37
Artesia (19-9): Clay Kincaid 6-9, 1-4 13; Trent Egeland 5-7, 1-2 11; Charlie Campbell 4-10, 2-4 10; Braylon Vega 2-3, 0-0 4; Corbyn Dominguez 1-4, 0-0 3
Totals: 18-34, 4-10 41
Valley (15-15): Luciano Mondragon 4-10, 6-8 14; Angelito Villa 4-9, 3-4 14; Carter Monroe 2-6, 0-0 6; Ivan Jaquez 1-3, 0-0 3
Totals: 11-34, 9-12 37
Field Goals: Artesia 18-34 (53%); Valley 11-34 (32%)
Three-Pointers: Artesia 1-5 (Dominguez); Valley 6-19 (Villa 3, Monroe 2, Jaquez 1)
Free Throws: Artesia 4-10 (40%); Valley 9-12 (75%)
Turnovers: Artesia 11; Valley 5
Fouls: Artesia 11; Valley 15
Fouled Out: None