Cavemen Battle Hawks in Playoff Opener

kmarksteiner0
15 minutes ago
4 min read

By Don Eskins

Basketball state tournament play tips off this weekend, Friday and Saturday, March 6-7. For Cavern City cage fans, things couldn’t be better!

The Carlsbad Cavemen, 18-9 on the year, have been seeded 10th for this year’s big dance and will take on the seventh-seeded Centennial Hawks in Las Cruces on Saturday afternoon. Tipoff for the clash has been set for 5 p.m.

“I like the matchup. Centennial is going to be tough, but I feel like they’re a team we can compete with,” said Caveman head coach John Zumbrun. “Our kids know only too well what’s at stake there. To stay alive in this year’s tournament, we’re going to need a win, so they’ll be ready to play.”

Centennial posted a mark of 20-8 for their efforts in 2025-26 and will take the floor having already upended Carlsbad once this year. On January 17, the Hawks thumped CHS 62-45.

“We played Centennial on back-to-back nights. The night before we played them, we took on a very tough Las Cruces Bulldawg squad,” said Zumbrun, “the same squad that’s been seeded fourth for this year’s state tournament.

“Although we dropped that one 46-33, our kids played really tough for four full quarters,” said the CHS coach. “So, we had some tired legs when we played Centennial, who was open the night before, which definitely had an impact on our performance. That shouldn’t be an issue this time.”

However, there is an issue the Cavemen will have to deal with. That issue is the Hawk’s Tou Kouliebchen. Kouliebchen, a 6’7” senior, has been averaging 20.3 points and 11.3 rebounds per game this year. Overall, according to MaxPreps stats, he’s made good on 63 percent of his field goal attempts.

“A District MVP; he’s really good,” said Zumbrun. “No doubt, he’s the best big man we’ve faced all year.”

The Cavemen are once again expected to take the opening tipoff with five seniors on the court. Taking the floor for CHS will be team leaders Shane Sullivan and Zenas Huerta, Dryden Preece, Maliq Mills, and Tanner Cornum.

Now in the win-or-go-home portion of their season, Carlsbad’s starting five know only too well what’s at stake in the City of Crosses. Despite Centennial being favored, the Cavemen are more than ready for the challenge.

“If we play up to our capabilities and limit our turnovers, we’re going to be just fine,” said coach Zumbrun. “With a good solid performance, I’m confident our kids can come back from Las Cruces with a win.”

With a victory over Centennial, CHS would move on to play the winner of the No. 2 Cleveland Storm vs. No. 15 Alamogordo Tigers match on March 11 at 1:15 p.m. in the UNM Pit.

Cavemen starter stats: 1. Shane Sullivan, 15.5 PPG, 8.3 RPG; 2. Zenas Huerta, 11. 3 PPG, 3.4 RPG; 3. Dryden Preece, 6.1 PPG, 3.0 RPG; 4. Tanner Cornum, 5.8 PPG, 2.5 RPG; 5. Maliq Mills, 4.2 PPG, 1.4 RPG.

District Tourney Results

Carlsbad High, rebounding off a 40-38 loss to the Hobbs Eagles in their final game of the season, rallied to drop the Roswell Coyotes 57-41 on Thursday night, January 26, behind Shane Sullivan’s 19-point effort, in the semi-final round of the District 4/5A tournament.

The victory catapulted CHS into the tournament final Saturday, January 28, against the Hobbs Eagles in Hobbs.

However, despite battling the Birds tough for four quarters of basketball, the Cavemen came up short, 48-43, in their effort to upset the Eagles. Caveman Zenas Huerta, with a big game offensively, ripped the nets for 17 points to lead all CHS scorers.

Game results are below.

Dist. 4/5A Tournament

CHS vs. Roswell, Jan. 26

RHS 14 5 12 10 41

CHS 12 17 14 14 57

Leaders: Scoring: Shane Sullivan, 19; Tanner Cornum, 9; Mario De Leon, 9; Dryden Preece, 8; Zenas Huerta, 7; Sanyika Green, 5; Rebounds: S. Sullivan, 14; T. Cornum, 4; Z. Huerta, 4; D. Preece, 4; Assists: S. Sullivan, 4; Z. Huerta, 3; K. Quarles, 2; Steals: S. Sullivan, 4; T. Cornum, 3; Blocks: M. De Leon, 3; S. Sullivan, 1; 2-pt. FGs: 16-29, 55.2%; 3-pt. FGs: 5-17, 29.4%; FTs: 10-17, 58.8%. (Hudl Digital Stats)

CHS @ Hobbs, Jan. 28

CHS 13 9 6 15 43

HHS 9 12 10 17 48

Leaders: Scoring: Zenas Huerta, 17; Shane Sullivan, 8; Sanyika Green, 7; Mario De Leon, 4; Maliq Mills, 3; Kevin Quarles, 2; Dryden Preece, 2; Rebounds: S. Sullivan, 10; Tanner Cornum, 4; D. Preece, 3; Z. Huerta, 3; Assists: Zenas Huerta, 4; K. Quarles, 1; S. Green, 1; S. Sullivan, 1; M. De Leon, 1; Steals: T. Cornum, 1; M. Mills. 1; S. Sullivan 1; M. De Leon, 1; Blocks: T. Cornum, 1; 2-pt. FGs: 10-21, 47.6%; 3-pt. FGs: 4-13, 30.8%: FTs: 11-13, 84.6%. (Hudl Digital Stats)

NMAA 2025-26 State

Tournament Seeds

1. Volcano Vista, 22-5

2. Cleveland, 23-6

3. Rio Rancho, 24-5

4. Las Cruces, 22-6

5. Hobbs, 18-9

6. Sandia, 20-9

7. Centennial, 20-8

8. Las Cruces, 24-5

9. AHS, 19-9

10. Carlsbad, 18-9