Tigers Keep on Clawing

By Marty Mayfield

KRTN Multi-Media

            It was a pair of tough ones for the boys Thursday night as they hosted Trinidad Miners for the second match-up between these two teams in which Trinidad easily won the first meeting.

            In the JV game Raton was down 9-0 at the end of the first quarter something that is very rare in boys basketball. Then the battle began as the Tigers came back to score 16 in the second and were down by four 20-16, yet had the charity stripe been more kind they could have tied the game as they went 4 of 9 free throws.

            Second half action saw Trinidad create turnovers in which they were able to capitalize on and create a 10-point lead by the fourth quarter and further widened the lead to finish it out at 55-41.

Angel Rosas slips under Miner Josh Serna as he heads for the bucket during the JV game Thursday evening in Raton

JV Scoring

Trinidad  9  11  18  17  55

Raton       0  16  12  13  41

Trinidad High Point

Malachi Baca 10

Jared Hernandez 10 2 of 2 free throws

Marcus Festi 11 3 of 4 free throws

Free Throws  10 of 16 attempts

Raton High Point

Dylan Query 10 2 of 2 free throws

Free throws 6 of 15 attempts

The varsity game was better than the game in Trinidad where the Miners simply ran off and left the Tigers. But then looking at the first half scoring one would think they did that for this game as well. Raton was down 52-36 at halftime, with both teams making it count at the free throw line.

            Second half action however played a different bell with Raton closing the gap and outscoring the Miners 21-9. Fourth quarter play brought about the first tie (67-67) game and lead change. Both teams went to the basket with Trinidad coming out on top of the race 21-20 and ending the game 84-77. Raton however went just over 50% at the line in the fourth going 5 of 9 free throws, while Trinidad went 9 of 18 free throws.

            Raton will host Des Moines Saturday night for Tigerfest activities.

Varsity Scoring

Trinidad  24  28  11  21  84

Raton      11  25   21  20  77

Trinidad High Point

Jeff Martinez 14 3 of 4 free throws and 3-3 pointers

Chris De Angelis 11 6 of 8 free throws

Dustyn Wille 21 1 of 2 free throws

Free Throws 20 of 36 attempts

Raton High Point

Rashaan Craig 24  8 of 10 free throws and 4-3 pointers

Jay Starr 15 3 of 6 free throws

Matt Earle 14 2 of 4 free throws

Free Throws 19 of 25 attempts

Tiger Jay Starr puts the ball back up as he falls backward making the 2-point shot as Jeff Martinez (12) and Max Casias (34) look on Thursday night during the varsity game

Miner Dustin Wille gets a hand on this Mark Hightree shot during the varsity game in Raton Thursday evening

Miner Nick Mason gets a hand on this Mark Hightree shot during the varsity game in Raton Thursday evening

Tiger Rashaan Craig eyes closed goes for the bucket as Miner Nick Mason gets a hand up during the varsity game in Raton Thursday evening