Basketball Recap: Tucumcari Drops Season-High Score on Clayton

Winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Tucumcari). They really took it to the Clayton Yellowjackets for the full four quarters, racking up a 75-36 win. The Rattlers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight matchups by 24 points or more this season.

Tucumcari's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Maaja Anaya, who went 7 for 13 from beyond the arc en route to 29 points and four steals. The dominant performance also gave Anaya a new career-high in three-point shooting accuracy (54%). July Lafferty was another key player, dropping a double-double on 14 points and 12 steals.

Rattlers

Previous 4 Games

02/06/25 @ Clayton	75-36
02/01/25 vs Raton	65-9
01/30/25 @ Estancia	47-38
01/25/25 vs Santa Rosa	63-39

Tucumcari smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in 47 consecutive contests dating back to last season.

Tucumcari has been performing well recently as they've won nine of their last 11 games, which provided a nice bump to their 15-5 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.6 points over those games. As for Clayton, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 6-14.

Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Tucumcari will host Pecos at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. Pecos will roll in looking for their seventh straight win, something Tucumcari surely won't give up without a fight. As for Clayton, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Santa Rosa at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.