REBUILDING SOME MOMENTUM

Following back-to-back wins over Hamilton, Rio Vista, Clifton Cubs host defending champion Whitney Wildcats in District 17-3A opener Friday

Despite being a little out of synch returning from the 12-day holiday break, the Clifton Cub boys basketball team rediscovered its winning ways with back-to-back victories in four days in preparation of the District 17-3A opener this week.

Snapping a five-game losing streak, the Cubs finished strong to post a hard-fought 49-46 road victory over the Hamilton Bulldogs last Friday, before building some momentum with a solid 48-37 win over the Rio Vista Eagles at home Monday afternoon in the Clifton High School Gymnasium.

Going into District 17-3A competition with the best non-district win-loss record, Clifton (14-8) will host the defending district champion Whitney Wildcats (6-11) at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Entering district play, no clear-cut favorite has emerged in what should shape up into a hard-fought chase for playoff berths, as the Grandview Zebras (10-11) open district at the Keene Chargers (10-12), while the Maypearl Panthers (10-13) visit the West Trojans (5-11).

“We’re excited about opening district this week, and I think it’s going to be a great battle,” Clifton boys basketball head coach Tom Daniel said. “We have three days to practice to get ready for Whitney, and they’re the defending district champions, so they will be tough. It will be a good test for us and we get to play them at home to open. If we play like we’re capable, I like our chances.”

Sinking five shots from three-point range, senior Jacob Wells led the Cubs with 19 points in the win over Rio Vista, followed by juniors Joaquin De La Hoya and Ray Ochoa with six each as well as senior Andres Devora and junior Tristan Hammond with five apiece.

Against Hamilton last Friday, junior Maddox Hinojosa led the Cubs with 15 points, followed by Devora with 11 playing for the first time this season coming off a knee injury suffered during football season.

“Snapping the losing streak was big for us before opening district,” Daniel said. “We played well, but Hamilton made just about every shot they put up. For us, it was good to get Andres back from his injury, and he played well.”

After winning seven of their previous eight games, the Cubs went into the Christmas break with a disappointing 61-52 home loss to Waco Rapoport Dec. 15. Hoping to avenge last season’s loss to Waco Rapaport, the Cubs came out after halftime with the game tied, but the Ravens ran away late. Wells led the Cubs with 13 points, followed by Hinojosa with 11 and Ochoa with 10.

“We didn’t get enough stops in the fourth quarter,” Daniel said. “We couldn’t low them down. And we didn’t make enough free throws in the first three quarters. But it’s a learning experience. We will definitely shoot a bunch of free throws in practice, and we’ll focus on defense the next couple of days. But they’re a good team, and they were a good test for us.”

Coming out of the 12-day break for the holidays, the Cubs dropped four straight hard-fought games in the Troy Trojan Tournament Dec. 27-28, losing three matchups by a total of 13 points.

After opening the tournament with a hard-fought 60-57 loss to the Class 5A Waco University junior varsity Dec. 27, the Cubs dropped their third straight game with a 56-52 loss to Lago Vista. The next day, McGregor handed Clifton a convincing 55-35 defeat before the Cubs wrapped up the tournament with a competitive 55-49 loss to Waskom.

Knocking down four three-pointers against McGregor, Wells led Clifton with 12 points, followed by Ochoa with 10 and De La Hoya with five. In the six-point loss to Waskom, Wells tossed in a team-high 21 points with five three-pointers, followed by Hinojosa with 10 and Hammond with six.

“We didn’t close out games well during the skid,” Daniel said. “We had a chance to win four of the five games, but we didn’t do a very good job of taking care of the ball and making free throws. At the same time, we played five good opponents, and playing them will make us better in district. If we learn something for it and it gets us one more district win, it will be worth it.”