The Anton Bulldogs squared off against the Borden County Coyotes in the Bi-District Round of the 1A Division 2 boys basketball playoffs this past Monday at Lamesa High School, resulting in the Bulldogs losing 72-50.
The loss eliminates Anton from the playoffs and ends their season, and following the game, Bulldogs Head Basketball Coach Ezekiel Clay spoke on what went wrong.
“They came out harder than us. Their energy from the get-go gave them an early lead that we were never able to bounce back from,” Coach Clay said. “Borden is a well-coached team and simply did more of the little things that allowed them to perform better than us. I wish them luck for the remainder of the playoffs.”
That slow start reflected on the scoreboard as Anton trailed 19-8 after the first quarter and 38-19 at half-
time, a deficit that was too great to overcome.
Scorers for the Bulldogs included Isaiah Alafa with 13 points behind two threepointers made, Shooter Campos with 11 points behind 3/5 free throws made, Zian Martinez with eight points, Tiny Juarez with six points, Xavi Avalos with five points on ¾ free throws made, Caleb Carlock with five points on ¾ free throws made and Kaden Starns with two points.
The loss finalizes the Bull - dogs record at 15-13 overall, and following the conclusion of their season, Coach Clay reflected on it.
“This year was an interesting mixture of building upon what we started last year, while also introducing new young players and learning a new identity without four-year varsity starters that graduated last year. We were better defensively in our second year running the run and jump and point zone, which are not easy defenses to learn. This allowed us to focus more on offense in practice, and I think we grew a lot in that aspect. The ball moved more fluidly, and less dribbles were wasted,” Coach Clay said. “We were able to win more games than the program has in several years, and I am proud of that fact, especially considering there were more games that we lost that we truly felt that we could’ve won. The boys grew as basketball players and young men, and that’s what I’m most proud of. I wish we could’ve gotten a Gold Ball because I know how much the boys wanted it. That’s what makes those trophies so sacred though, they are not easy to get. We look forward to returning a vast majority of our players and continuing to capitalize on the work that we have put in so far.”
This season of growth and improvement will serve as a great building block and preparation for the next, as they’ll face a tougher district pool following the realignment for the 2026-27 season.