EYES ON THE PRIZE

Looking for first district crown since 2002, Clifton Cubs host arch-rival Whitney, aiming to force 17-3A title tiebreaker with West

Going into the 2024-25 Texas high school boys basketball regular season finale, the Clifton Cubs will be playing for at least of share of the District 17-3A championship – their first district title since 2002. And the Cubs moved into this position by winning five straight games, seven of their last eight.

But the biggest win came at the most important time as the Cubs knocked off the district-leading West Trojans, 63-50, last Friday night at the Clifton High School Gymnasium to surge into a tie for the top spot.

“It puts us in position to achieve one of the goals we set at the beginning of the season to win a district championship,” Clifton boys basketball head coach Tom Daniel said. “That’s something that hasn’t been done around here in a long time, so that would be a big deal. We had a great week last week and a good one the week before. And we’re looking forward to having another great week this week too.”

In the district finale, the Cubs (7-2 in district, 22-9 overall) play host to the arch rival and playoff-bound Whitney Wildcats (5-4, 11-17) at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday. In the meantime, West (7-2, 19-10) plays host to the third place Troy Trojans (6-3, 18-10) Tuesday night. If both Clifton and West win, it will force a district championship tiebreaker showdown later this week.

“The guys are aware of the importance of this game, and they know Whitney is a good team,” Daniel said. “They clinched a playoff spot on Friday night, and they’re still playing to try to move up the standings. They’ll be ready. But I think we will be too, though.”

In the crucial showdown against West last Friday night, senior Maddox Hinojosa scored a game-high 20 points to lead the Cubs, followed by senior Ray Ochoa with 15 points and senior Joaquin De la Hoya with 10.

After Clifton built a 31-25 lead going into intermission, the Trojans outscored the Cubs, 15-9, in the third to tie the game going into the final frame. But after West took the lead early in the fourth, the Cubs responded with a flurry to run away with the win.

“We were ready to play,” Daniel said. “It was a tight game tied going into the fourth quarter and they actually scored the first couple of baskets in the fourth. But from that point on, the guys responded to that mini-run West had to go up by five. They got stops down the stretch, executed well on offense and played with a ton of energy in the fourth quarter. It was really good to see.

“I would definitely say that was one of our best games of the year. We played a pretty good game overall. West made some runs at us, but if that wasn’t our best game, it was one of the best games. And certainly I would say that the fourth quarter was the best quarter we’ve had all season. It came at the right time, they really stepped up.”

Maintaining their winning ways last Tuesday, the Cubs overwhelmed Waco Harmony, 76-7, at home as Ochoa scored a game-high 14 points in the first half, followed by senior Kyle Rogers with 12, De la Hoya with 10, Hinojosa with nine and senior Diego Rodriguez with six. Coming off the bench, sophomore Eduardo Garcia tossed in seven points, followed by junior Deacon Williams with six.

“That game was a good opportunity to get everyone some playing time before the playoffs,” Daniel said. “Those guys are working hard in practice every day, so it was good for them to get some extended minutes. And the guys did a good job, all things considered in that game. And it was fun to get to see some guys that don’t play as much get to do their thing.”