Basketball Recap: Artesia Takes a Loss

While it was all tied up 20-20 at halftime, Artesia was not quite Goddard's equal in the second half on Friday. They fell to the Goddard Rockets 45-40. The contest marked the Bulldogs' lowest-scoring matchup so far this season.

Goddard got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Kyle Mesquita out in front who went 5-for-9 on his way to 13 points along with five assists and three steals. Those five assists gave Mesquita a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Ezekiel Burrola, who went 5-for-9 en route to 12 points.

Artesia's defeat was their first in the district, dropping their district record down to 5-1 and their overall record down to 17-8. As for Goddard, they pushed their record up to 11-14 with the win, which was their third straight at home.

Looking ahead, Artesia will welcome Portales at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Artesia is facing Portales at the right time seeing as Portales is stuck on a five-game losing streak. As for Goddard, they will head out on the road to take on Lovington at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Lovington is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 61.3 points per game this season.