Cavemen finish third in ABQ Academy tournament

Switching to more of a zone defense, the Carlsbad boys basketball team overpowered Del Norte, 69-42, on Saturday to finish third place at the Albuquerque Academy Tournament.

"The kids came out with a lot more focus (Saturday). I think they were a little bit upset about losing to Oñate the previous night. It seems like they took out their frustrations on Del Norte," coach Jamaal Brown said. "I knew they weren't going to come out and have a flat effort after getting beat in their first lost of the season. I knew they were going to come out with a lot of fire, and they did."

Brown said Carlsbad had a size advantage defending against Del Norte's smaller lineup, especially in the post. Brown said Carlsbad's post players, led by junior bigs Brenden Boatwright and Chris Johnson, got involved earlier in the game and stayed out of foul trouble.

Brown also said Carlsbad was able to rest some of its players and "clear the bench" toward the end.

Boatwright scored 23 points. Johnson scored 10, and senior shooting guard Micah Calderon scored eight. Junior guard Coda Duarte scored nine points.

Carlsbad (5-1) will play at 7 p.m. today at Goddard.

During their first meeting with Goddard about two weeks ago, Carlsbad had a tough start on the scoring end but turned things around in the second half to win that night.

Brown said he'd like to see the same kind of effort Carlsbad showed in the second half that game, but do so from the beginning.

CARLSBAD 69, DEL NORTE 42

Up next for Carlsbad: 7 p.m. today at Goddard

Up next for Del Norte: 7 p.m. Friday at Eldorado