PICTURED: Clay Kincaid puts up a jumper over Hope's Landon Cochran during the second quarter Thursday at The Pit.
(Photo by Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)
The Bulldogs headed up that comically steep ramp at The Pit in Albuquerque Thursday afternoon with just a six-point halftime lead in hand. After getting off to a strong start with a 21-15 first quarter in their Class 4A State Semifinal against No. 3 Hope Christian, it seemed as if fatigue might be setting in a bit, and for that, the boys in orange could definitely be forgiven. The turnaround was quick after Wednesday evening's quarterfinal that had seen Artesia go all out and then some in an 80-19 win over Gallup. The Hope Huskies were using it to their advantage, forcing five turnovers in the final eight minutes of the first half and forcing a well-planned defensive effort on harassing the 'Dogs' shooting guard tandem of Braylon Vega and Charlie Campbell at every turn.
But if there's one thing the defending state champion Runnin' 'Dogs don't do, it's rattle. No matter the size of the stage, this team -- which returned all but one member of its 2024-25 title-winning roster -- maintains the sort of cool confidence that coaches dream about. Next man up. Plan B. If at first you don't succeed. So even when the Huskies were still hanging around midway through the third, the Bulldogs just kept trusting each other. And slowly but surely, just as it has so many times this season, their faith began to pay off.
"We just take it one moment at a time," head coach Michael Mondragon said in the post-game press conference. "One of our mottos is 'Staying Present,' staying right here in the moment. God is good and has always been good to us and blessed us with the ability to do what we're doing, and we just take every moment as it comes."
The second half had begun with a bucket in the paint by Trent Egeland off the dish from Campbell, who'd been compensating for his complete lack of open shots by feeding teammates like a one-man buffet. A pair of baskets from Hope's Landon Cochran and Jayce Miera pulled the Huskies within five, 36-31, but despite their own considerable height, Hope Christian had had few answers Thursday for Artesia's 6'8" center Clay Kincaid. Kincaid had endured the bulk of the defensive attention versus Gallup, but he'd been making the most of his breathing room in this one, posting nine points in the first half. With 5:22 to go in the third, he was fouled on the offensive boards and followed his successful and-one with a strong shot off the glass to quickly bump the 'Dogs' lead to 10, 41-31.
PICTURED: Braylon Vega goes in for a layup and draws a foul from Hope Christian's Kyle Eades during the first quarter.
(Photo by Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)
A three from Husky junior Blaise Davis brought Hope Christian back within single digits, but Campbell was able to dribble through pressure for an up-and-under, and Egeland followed with another in the paint. Jack Byers jumped in to get his in the final two minutes, following a bucket over un-whistled contact with a quick defensive rebound, and after Vega drained his first three of the night in the final seconds to put Artesia up 50-37, it was clear where the momentum was headed: right back to the 4A championship game.
Back-to-back baskets by Egeland on alley-oop passes from Campbell to start the fourth were answered by Cochran and Hope standout senior Brayden Giron, but the 'Dogs were in the groove now. The next three minutes saw Artesia outscore the Huskies 13-5, spurred by Kincaid -- who dominated the paint with two offensive putbacks and an alley-oop layup -- and bolstered by a bucket from Cael Houghtaling on a wrap-around pass from Campbell and Vega's second trey with just over four minutes to go. By the time Campbell snuck through the defense for a short-range jumper with just under two minutes on the clock, the Bulldogs had put it all out of reach, up 67-46. Hope Christian hit twice more from behind the arc in the final minute-45, but in between, Kincaid rounded out his high-point afternoon with two more under the basket, including yet another alley-oop layup off the dish from Houghtaling.
It was the sort of win that put both the 'Dogs' skill and strategy on display, and it bodes very well for Championship Saturday.
"I thought we did a great job at halftime, making some adjustments," said Mondragon. "I didn't think we executed very well in the first half, but we came out and [...] shot 10-11 in the fourth quarter. Efficiency, you know. We felt like we had a huge advantage in multiple spots, but we were playing a little too fast. And they did a good job -- they changed our defenses a lot, but I'm really proud of these guys. We've been working all year long, and it's one of those things where we knew where we wanted to be. It's a big accomplishment, these guys getting to back-to-back state title game, but we know the job's not done yet."
PICTURED: Trent Egeland powers up in the paint for a bucket off the glass during the third quarter.
(Photo by Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)
Kincaid's determination was clear from his opening basket just seconds into Thursday's semifinal. He'd follow up with an old-fashioned three-point play off the offensive boards and a layup on a quick pass from Houghtaling to anchor the 'Dogs' offense in the face of Hope's defensive game plan.
"I kind of wanted to let out a little more, I guess, emotion," said the senior. "Usually I'm kind of straight-faced, but I just wanted to be contagious and get the whole team fired up, and I think it helped."
Egeland went up strong in the paint for three baskets in the opening quarter, Vega powered into the lane for back-to-back layups, and Houghtaling got two of his own, including a reverse layup on a Campbell alley-oop that -- combined with the rest of the abundant examples of Artesia's passing prowess in the bout -- had the Albuquerque media dubbing Artesia Lob City Southwest in the post-game conference.
"Cael Houghtaling, he can really jump out of the gym," said Kincaid. "Trent, our whole starting five can dunk, so expect to see more of it, maybe. My teammates, they're awesome. I mean, I'm so grateful for my teammates. We love each other. Just everything -- bus rides, meals, we love each other, and it's just a great atmosphere."
The second quarter, by comparison, was a low-scoring one for both squads, but despite their turnover trouble and a rash of missed shots, the 'Dogs did enough to maintain their six-point edge. Another basket by Egeland was followed by back-to-back buckets from Byers to widen the gap to 10 with just under four minutes to go. A long three from Miera, buckets in the paint by Conor Dwyer and Cochran, and a long trey by Giron had the Huskies within two with just over a minute remaining in the half, 29-27, but Vega and Kincaid reinstated the cushion, 33-27, with a hard drive to the hoop and one off the glass. All that remained was to let the "Tenacious Mindset" take over, and the Bulldogs did just that in the final 16 minutes.
PICTURED: Braylon Vega drains one over Landon Cochran (14) and Kyle Eades (15).
(Photo by Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints)
Kincaid finished with 24 points on the night and a double-double with 11 rebounds, followed by Egeland with 16, Vega with 14, Byers and Houghtaling with six apiece, and Campbell with five. The 'Dogs were able to hold Giron to 15 for the Huskies, while Cochran finished with 12.
"We've got a lot of guys with a lot of length, and we threw multiple guys at him," Mondragon said of Giron. "He's tough. I told him down there on the court. Great career, amazing guy -- it feels like we've been playing against him for eight years, and he's finally going to graduate this year, but just frustrating him, making him take tough two's and three's, and being real physical. And when you've got multiple guys with length, we don't get too tired."
Mondragon also credited the team mentality among a squad of athletes who've experienced success together in multiple sports as key to Artesia's ability to cohesively fight through adversity.
"Success breeds success," said the coach, "and when you're winning in other sports, they're bringing that experience in. These guys -- one thing that's unique about these guys is like Jack, he's going to Arizona in baseball. It would've been real easy for him to say, 'Coach, I don't wanna play basketball, I want to get ready for my scholarship.' Tootie, same thing with football. Charlie's a big basketball guy, Braylon, Clay, they could've not played football. But these guys love each other, and they love playing together. And it's kind of the culture that we have. It's really cool, too, Coach [Jeremy] Maupin, Coach [Jackson] Bickel, the football and baseball coaches, we're always working together, we're always texting each other. They text me all the time: 'Great game,' 'Good luck.' Coach Bickel before we left said, 'I don't wanna see our guys until next week.' So it's nice to have that support and what we build in Artesia and how we build it, all the way from the administration down. And these guys are a special group, but it's something that we start when they're young and we really encourage them to do all that they can do."
The Bulldogs (25-5) will now have a day off to prepare for Saturday's 4 p.m. championship game against top-ranked Highland, which will be a rematch of last year's 4A title tilt that saw Artesia bring home the program's third blue trophy and first since 1997 with a 55-48 win over the Hornets. After a close first half, Highland (26-4) pulled away Thursday evening to defeat No. 5 Taos, 71-51. They previously powered past No. 16 Grants in the opening round, 76-31, and No. 9 Portales in the quarterfinals, 95-69.
"I'm proud of them," Mondragon said of his team. "I love them. This is where you want to go, and we're 32 minutes from finishing our job that we set forth back in April. We're really proud of these guys and really excited. And challenge Artesia, let's go pack the gym. We're pumped."
Artesia fans can pick up their tickets to Saturday's title game through UNM's ticketing portal. Ticket prices at The Pit are listed at $11 for adults, $7 for students (K-12), seniors (65+) and the military, with chair-back reserved seats available for $15. However, those prices will increase to $15 for adults; $10 for students, seniors and the military; and $19 for reserved seats after UNM's fees are applied.
Other information of note:
• UNM has a clear-bag policy; bags may not be larger than 12"x6"x12". Gallon-sized Ziploc bags are also acceptable.
• UNM will charge $7 per vehicle for parking.
• Concession sales will be card-only; no cash.
• Livestreaming will be via NFHSNetwork only, which requires a subscription.
STAT BOX
#2 Artesia 71
#3 Hope Christian 52
Artesia (25-5): Clay Kincaid 11-12, 2-2 24; Trent Egeland 8-12, 0-1 16; Braylon Vega 5-11, 2-3 14; Jack Byers 3-3, 0-0 6; Cael Houghtaling 3-5, 0-0 6; Charlie Campbell 2-6, 1-2 5; Tootie McNeil 0-1, 0-0 0
Totals: 32-50, 5-8 71
Hope Christian (23-9): Brayden Giron 6-11, 1-2 15; Landon Cochran 6-12, 0-0 12; Jayce Miera 3-12, 1-2 8; Isaac Aaron 2-8, 0-0 5; Conor Dwyer 2-2, 0-0 4; Blaise Davis 1-3, 0-0 3; Santonio Ortega 1-1, 0-0 3; Kyle Eades 1-8, 0-0 2
Totals: 22-57, 2-4 52
Field Goals: Artesia 32-50 (64%); Hope Christian 22-57 (39%)
Three-Pointers: Artesia 2-7 (Vega) (29%); Hope Christian 6-25 (Giron 2, Aaron 1, Davis 1, Miera 1, Ortega 1) (24%)
Free Throws: Artesia 5-8 (63%); Hope Christian 2-4 (50%)
Rebounds: Artesia 32 (25 defensive, 7 offensive); Hope Christian 23 (13 defensive, 10 offensive)
Assists: Artesia 23; Hope Christian 14
Steals: Artesia 5; Hope Christian 4
Turnovers: Artesia 12; Hope Christian 7
Fouls: Artesia 9; Hope Christian 11
Fouled Out: None