Cavemen Battle St. Michaels Horsemen

kmarksteiner0
Dec 31
3 min read

By Don Eskins

Having taken a few days off to celebrate the holiday season, the streaking Cavemen basketball team will return to the floor for a Friday, January 2, clash with the St. Michaels Horsemen.

As a participant in this year's Portales Shootout, the game will take place in Portales. It will be the only game CHS plays in the tournament. Tipoff for the event is scheduled for 6 p.m.

The Horsemen, 5-2 on the year, look to be a formidable opponent for CHS. Included among their victories this season is a 58-57 win over the Albuquerque High School Bulldogs.

Earlier this year, leading 41-33, as the two teams headed into fourth-quarter play, CHS dropped a 51-50 encounter to the Dogs.

The Cavemen, now riding a seven-game win streak, are 7-3 on the year and are currently ranked 13th by MaxPreps in Class 5A cage play. St. Michaels is ranked second in Class 3A.

Cavemen fans shouldn't be misled by St. Michaels' Class 3A stature. Statewide, MaxPreps has ranked the Horsemen 17th, nine spots better than the Cavemen, who they've listed 26th. According to MaxPreps, the Horsemen will take the floor as the odds-on favorite (all rankings as of December 26, 2025).

Cavemen Down Artesia, Portales

On December 19 in the Cavern City, Carlsbad High, down 35-28 at the half, rallied to outscore the Artesia Bulldogs 32-19 over the final two periods, downing the Dogs 60-54. Leading the way for CHS offensively was Zenas Huerta with 20 points. Also scoring in double digits were Shane Sullivan with 12 and Tanner Cornum with 10.

On December 22 in Carlsbad, CHS, trailing the Portales Rams 49-44 after three quarters, battled back to outscore the Rams 14-8 in the final frame of play to grab a 58-57 victory. Shane Sullivan, with 17 points and 16 rebounds, led all CHS scorers. Zenas Huerta and Sanyika Green also had big games. Huerta dropped in 12, Green 10.

"We kind of hung around Artesia during the early part of the game. But during the latter, we dominated," said Caveman head coach John Zumbrun. "We shot especially well from the three-point line, hitting 11 of our 25 attempts.

"Portales, however, really took it to us. We had to get the game up to a frantic pace to come back and win. We were a bit lucky against the Rams," he said. "We shot poorly against them from the three-point line, hitting only five of 29 attempts. We had lots of good looks; the ball just wouldn't fall for us."

As for the Cavemen's streak of seven straight wins, Zumbrun said the credit belonged to his players.

"No doubt about it, we're playing really well right now," he said. "That can be attributed to our kids. A lot of them are contributing, and it's made a big difference in the outcome of our games."

Cavemen vs. ArtesiaDec. 19, FridayAHS 16 19 13 6 54CHS 18 10 19 13 60Leaders: Scoring: Zenas Huerta, 20; Shane Sullivan, 12; Mario De Leon, 10; Tanner Cornum, 6; Maliq Mills, 6; Dryden Preece, 6; Rebounds: Dryden Preece, 5; Mario De Leon, 5; Shane Sullivan, 3; Tanner Cornum, 3; Assists: Zenas Huerta, 2; Shane Sullivan, 2; Mario De Leon, 2; Steals: Tanner Cornum, 2; Mario De Leon, 2; 3 pt. FGs 11-25-44%, 2 pt. FGs 10-25-40%, Effective FG% 21-50-42%, FTs- 7-11-64%. (Hudl Digital Stats)

Cavemen vs. PortalesDec. 22, TuesdayPHS 13 15 21 8 57CHS 14 6 24 14 58Leaders: Scoring: Shane Sullivan, 17; Zenas Huerta, 12; Sanyika Green, 10; Maliq Mills, 9; Kevin Quarles, 5; Dryden Preece, 5; Rebounds: S. Sullivan, 16; K. Quarles, 6; S. Green, 4; D. Preece, 2; Z. Huerta, 2; Assists: K. Quarles, 6; Z. Huerta, 4; Steals: Tanner Cornum, 3; S. Sullivan, 3; K. Quarles, 2; Blocks: S. Sullivan, 2; D. Preece, 1; 2 pt. FGs 19-36-52.8%, 3 pt. FGs 5-29-17.2%; FTs 5-9-55.6%. (Hudl Digital Stats)