Cavemen Upset Centennial Hawks 52-47

By Don Eskins

As the buzzer sounded, ending the Cavemen’s 52-47 upset victory over the Centennial Hawks during opening round play of the state basketball tournament in Las Cruces on Saturday night, March 7, had iconic sportscaster Al Michaels been doing the play-by-play, he just might have exclaimed, “Do you believe in miracles!”

Entering the game having already lost to Centennial once, 62-45, and as a 10th-seeded underdog, the Cavemen proved to be anything but! Except for a hiccup in the fourth and final frame, Carlsbad competed with the seventh-seeded and favored Hawks, step-for-step throughout the encounter.

Up by one, 19-18, at the half, CHS took control of the game in the third quarter. Behind Shane Sullivan and Zenas Huerta’s six points, Sanyika Green’s four, and a three-point shot by Kevin Quarles, the Cavern City boys outscored the Hawks 19-5 in the frame to grab a commanding 15-point lead, 38-23, as both teams headed into the fourth and final eight minutes of play.

The Cavemen surge couldn’t have come at a better time.

With eight minutes remaining in the win-or-go-home state tournament opener, the Hawks rallied to close their 15-point deficit to just two points, 49-47, with 31.8 seconds remaining in the game.

But a timely score by Sanyika Green at the 23-second mark and a free throw from Elijah Banks with only 15. 8 seconds left in the game iced the 52-47 victory for the Cavemen. (Play-by-play game stats unofficial)

Making good on nine of 13 two-point attempts and one of two at the free throw line, senior point guard Zenas Huerta, on fire throughout the night, led all Cavemen scorers with 19 points.

Shane Sullivan also enjoyed a double-digit night. The 6’4” Caveman center scored 13 points before fouling out late in the fourth quarter. Sophomore Kevin Quarles, also with a good night offensively, scored nine.

En route to the victory, CHS held Centennial’s talented 6’7” center Kouliebchen Tou, who had been averaging 20.3 points and 11.3 rebounds per game, to just 17 points and seven boards.

From inside the arc, CHS hit 19 of 35 shots for a blistering 54.3 percent. Beyond the arc, uncharacteristically, they put up just 10 three-point shots, making good on two.

With the win over the Hawks, the Cavemen, 19-9, moved on to the quarterfinal round of the state tournament on Wednesday, March 11, to take on the second-seeded Cleveland Storm, 24-6.

The Storm earned the right to compete in this year’s quarterfinals by routing the 15th-seeded Alamogordo Tigers 86-51 in their opening round of the tournament.

State Tournament Rd. 1

CHS @ Centennial, March 7

CHS 7 12 19 14 52

Cent 8 10 5 24 47

Leaders: Scoring: Zenas Huerta, 19; Shane Sullivan, 13; Kevin Quarles, 9; Sanyika Green, 6; Tanner Cornum, 2; Mario De Leon, 2; Elijah Banks, 1; Rebounds: Z. Huerta, 7; E. Banks, 6; S. Sullivan, 5; Dryden Preece, 5; T. Cornum, 3; Maliq Mills, 1; K. Quarles, 1; M. De Leon, 1; Assists: K. Quarles, 4; Z. Huerta, 3; S. Sullivan, 2; D. Preece, 1; M. De Leon, 1; Steals: K. Quarles, 3; S. Huerta, 3; T. Cornum, 2; D. Preece, 2; S. Sullivan, 2; S. Green, 1; E. Banks, 1; Blocks: E. Banks, 1; 2-pt. FGs: 19-35-54.3%; 3-pt. FGs: 2-10-20%; Effective FGs: 48.9%; FTs: 8-18-44.4%. (Hudl Digital Stats)