Carlsbad basketball teams to host first round
Both teams received No. 4 seeds in 6A state tournament brackets
CARLSBAD – The Carlsbad boys and girls basketball teams will treat the city to back-to-back first round home games in the 2016 U.S. Bank 6A state tournament.
The Cavegirls (25-2) earned the No. 4 seed in the 6A girls bracket and will host No. 13 seed and District 4-6A foe Clovis (9-16) at 7 p.m. Friday.
The girls' key victories included Aztec, two against Roswell, Las Cruces and Volcano Vista. Carlsbad's two losses came on the road at Mayfield and at Eldorado. Mayfield's the No. 5 seed and Eldorado is the No. 3 seed.
Cibola is the top seed in the girls tournament, and Volcano Vista is the No. 2 seed.
The Cavemen (21-7) earned the No. 4 seed in the 6A boys bracket and will host No. 13 seed Volcano Vista (13-14) at 7 p.m. Saturday.
The boys' big victories include California's Cabrillo during the MaxPreps Holiday Classic tournament, road wins over Las Cruces, Gadsden and Volcano Vista and a home win over Roswell, along with three straight victories over Hobbs over an eight-day period entering the state tournament.
The Cavemen have won 12 of their past 13 games entering the state tournament.
The top three respective boys teams in the tournament are Oñate, Cleveland and Cibola. Carlsbad played Oñate twice this year, but lost both games.
Both Carlsbad teams won the District 4-6A regular season and tournament championships this season.
Loving in 3A state tournament again
The Loving girls (18-8) earned the No. 9 seed in the 3A girls bracket and will play at eighth-seeded Lordsburg (19-8) at 6 p.m. Friday.
The Loving boys (14-10) earned the No. 12 seed in the 3A boys bracket and will play at fifth-seeded Santa Rosa (18-10) at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Artesia boys return to state
The Bulldogs (11-13) will be the No. 14 seed in the 5A boys bracket and will play at third-seeded Capital at 7 p.m. Saturday.
The Artesia girls (5-21) will miss their second straight 5A girls state tournament. The New Mexico boys and girls state basketball tournament brackets were released on Sunday evening.
Current-Argus Sports Editor Matt Hollinshead may be reached at 575-628-5518.