Wolverines ride balanced attack for first title since 2001

The Texico boys basketball team was ranked No. 1 in Class 2A at the start of the season. The team finished the season at No. 1, with the state trophy in hand.

But by no means did the Wolverines lead wire-to-wire throughout the season,

At the EPAC tournament in January, Texico was just another team not playing for the title after a 58-54 defeat to Class 1A Dora.

“I think it kind of taught us all that we’ve got to go out and play every night,” junior Brett Anderson said.

It was that loss that put the Wolverines at 7-4, and gave them the motivation to take their final record to 26-5.

“After we lost to Dora, we took it really hard,” senior Daniel Schueler said. “We decided, ‘We’re not having fun anymore.’ We decided to play as hard as we could and still have fun.”

The results paid off immediately, with a 66-58 win over Santa Rosa to start a 10-game winning streak.

“From the next night out, we were a different team,” Texico coach Richard Luscombe said. “Execution was a big part. They did their job; they didn’t try to do their job and somebody else’s. They bought completely into the team concept.”

Case in point: Texico’s road to the title. Bosque focused on stopping Courtland Luscombe and Seth Bailey in the quarterfinals, and Schueler scored 36 in an overtime win.

“Every night it was someone different,” Schueler said.

In the title game, Mesilla Valley focused on Luscombe and Scheuler, and Casey Crist scored 27.

“We were able to go to a lot of different kids that could carry us,” Richard Luscombe said. “If it was their night, the rest of the kids said, ‘It’s your turn,’ and they gave him the ball until they stopped (him).”

Texico did just that, feeding the ball to Crist against Mesilla Valley in a game they led with an early 8-0 run, and never trailed in winning its first title since 2001 and third boys title in school history.

Of the 58 scored by the Wolverines in the title game, 52 came from its seven seniors.

“When it’s your last time ... you realize, ‘This is it,’” coach Luscombe said. “I think all of a sudden it seemed like they did things better.”