Lady Tigers Ring the Cowbell

By Marty Mayfield

KRTN Multi-Media

            It was a repeat of the Cowbell Championship game back in December as the Lady Tigers hosted the Lady Demons in a regular season game that had the Cowbell on the line.

            Raton came out strong and pressed the Lady Demons and took the early lead and surprisingly never looked back. While the Lady Demons seemed to have trouble finding the basket the Raton press didn’t help any and Raton gradually continued to widen the lead.

            By halftime Raton had an 11-point lead with all their points coming from the field, not a single freethrow in the first half while Des Moines added six points at the charity stripe.

            As second half action continued the Lady Tigers not only shut the Lady Demons down they held them to only two points from the field three free throws in the third quarter. Fourth quarter action wasn’t much better for Des Moines despite their strong defensive play.

            When the buzzer sounded Raton had not only won the game but were able to Ring the Cowbell, perhaps a bit of sweet revenge for Raton not only for the loss at the Cowbell but from the other losses this dynamic and strong Des Moines team has handed to Raton. 

Girls

Des Moines     6  11   5  8  30

Raton              17 11 12 8  48

Des Moines high Point

Shelby Walker 10  6 of 11 free throws

Free Throws 13 of 29 attempts

Raton High Point

Jordan Valdez 15  0 of 2 free throws 3 3-pointers

Mikala Vertovec 10

Free Throws  1 of 7 free throws

Lady Tiger Taryn Trujillo gets a hand on the ball and sends Aunna Walker to the free throw line Saturday night in Raton

One thing Raton did well was rebound Saturday night, here its Taryn Trujillo, Brylee Medina and Michelle Guara grabbing for the ball. 

One of Aunna Walkers trips to the free throw line, the scoreboard shows the deficit the Lady Demons had to overcome.

Brylee Medina grabs the bell as the Lady Tigers not only won the game they claimed title to the Cowbell 

The Lady Tigers celebrate their victory with the bell held high in the huddle Saturday night in Tiger Gym 

Des Moines wins Squeaker

By Marty Mayfield

KRTN Multi-Media

            Wow what a game! The Des Moines Demons came to town and took the court with the Tigers to an exciting end that saw Rashaan Craig make a wild 3-pointer at the buzzer.

            The first half of this game was an exciting matchup that stayed close throughout and ended with Des Moines on top by only four (32-28). The action was intense not just under the basket but all over the court as both teams pressed periodically and saw turnovers that resulted in scores.

            Second half action however saw Raton fall behind, yet no thanks to the free throw line as Raton saw Des Moines go six times and only add one point to the board, with Raton going three of three at the charity stripe. What pulled Des Moines out was the long shot as they scored nine and Emilio Cisneros making two of them.

            Fourth quarter however was a different story as Raton battled back tying the score midway through the quarter. Des Moines however stayed with it and managed to pull back out. With less than a minute left Raton made a gallant effort yet the 3-point shot by Craig was good Raton still needed three more to tie. As the buzzer sounded though it was only a three point spread 68-65.

Boys

Des Moines    13  19  18  18  68

Raton              12  16  12  25  65

Des Moines High Point

Austin Vincent  11 3 of 3 free throws

Emilio Cisneros 18  5 of 12 free throws

Jr Escobar 10 2 of 5 free throws

Free throws 16 of 32 attempts

Raton High Point

Matt Earle 16  1 of 1 free throws

Seth Brower 11 1 of 2 free throws

Rashaan Craig 25 2 of 3 free throws 6 3-pointers

Tiger Seth Brower goes up for the jumper as Tristen McNabb draws the foul and sends Brower to the line where he got 1 of 1 

Matt Earle goes for the ball however Bryan Jacobs on the floor blocks the way 

Another loose ball as Tiger Matt Earle just cant get a hand on it and Jr. Escobar and Ryan Martin move toward the ball Saturday night in Tiger Gym

Dustin Gonzales commits the booboo as he gets a hand or two on Emilio Cisneros as he goes for the jumper.

Was it a clean block? Jay Starr drew the foul as he made contact with John Gilbert as this shot developed.

Anthony Brown, at the free throw line, takes a deep breath, notice the scoreboard plenty of time for Raton to tie or win. But that wasn’t in the cards Saturday night as Des Moines pulled it out 68-65