North-South Shootout: 10 Players To Watch + Schedule

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The annual North-South Shootout gets underway Thursday at Belen High School. Six teams will engage in basketball battle over the course of three days. Each team will play three games in three days. Here are some of the players to watch:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pablo Aguilar, Belen</strong>: One of the leaders of Belen's balanced offensive attack. The Eagles carry a three-game winning streak into the North-South Shootout after trouncing Los Alamos in their last game, scoring a season high of 81 points against the Hilltoppers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2283972' first='Carin' last='Bustillos'], Valencia</strong>: He was the hero in a recent win over Goddard, hitting a pair of free throws with 0.5 seconds left to give Valencia a hard-fought 38-37 win. Those two teams meet again on Friday. Bustillos is Valencia's second leading scorer at 13.0+ points and 6.0 rebounds per game. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1846065' first='Charlie' last='Campbell'], Artesia</strong>: In most games, Campbell is Artesia's leading scorer. Tuesday, he had 11 in the Bulldogs' Eddy County War win over Carlsbad. He's one of five players on Artesia's roster listed at 6-foot-3 or taller. An exceptional athlete. Also an outstanding football player. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2300007' first='Malakhai' last='Ely'], Taos</strong>: The Tigers are off to a flying start with a 9-2 record. The senior Ely is the leader on the court as he's averaging about 15 points and 10 rebounds per game. In short, he's producing close to a double-double in nearly every game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2706616' first='Donnivan' last='Gomez'], Lovington</strong>: The Wildcats (4-9) have struggled from a win-loss perspective so far this season, but Gomez is scoring and rebounding at an impressive clip. He is averaging 14.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2146038' first='Clay' last='Kincaid'], Artesia</strong>: The big fella (6-foot-8) does a little bit of everything for Artesia. He scores, rebounds, blocks shots and generally makes his presence felt in the paint.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1717301' first='Jared' last='Porter'], Valencia</strong>: The Jaguars are playing good basketball heading into the North-South Shootout. They recently won the Stu Clark Invitational in Las Vegas. Porter is Valencia's leading scorer, averaging close to 15 points per game. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sammy Sanchez, Belen</strong>: Excels on both ends of the floor for the Eagles. Scores about 10 points per game and leads the team in rebounding and blocks. Makes his presence felt in the paint. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2693660' first='Roberto' last='Trujillo'], Taos</strong>: Trujillo is the Tigers' top outside shooting threat. In the Tigers' win over Gallup last Friday, he connected on four 3-pointers. For the season, he's made 25 of his 57 3-point attempts (43.9 percent). Taos has a solid inside-outside game with Trujillo and [player_tooltip player_id='2300007' first='Malakhai' last='Ely'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1717327' first='Braylon' last='Vega'], Artesia</strong>: In the Bulldogs' Eddy County War win over Carlsbad Tuesday night, Vega led Artesia with 14 points. He's a 3-ppoint sharpshooter and recently scored the 1,000^th point of his career. Vega is one of many reasons Artesia is favored to repeat as Class 4A champions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>NORTH-SOUTH SHOOTOUT SCHEDULE</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Thur., Jan. 8</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Belen vs. Lovington, 11 a.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Taos vs. Goddard, 3:30 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Artesia vs. Valencia, 6:30 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fri., Jan. 9</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Taos vs. Lovington, 1:30 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Valencia vs. Goddard, 4:30 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Artesia vs. Belen, 7 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sat., Jan. 10</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Valencia vs. Lovington, 10:30 a.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Artesia vs. Taos, 1:30 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Goddard vs. Belen, 4:30 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Jags fall short in Cruces. On to the North/South Showdown this weekend in Belen. <a href="https://t.co/Jx9HWK8LhM">pic.twitter.com/Jx9HWK8LhM</a></p>&mdash; Valencia Jaguar Boys Basketball (@VHSJagHoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/VHSJagHoops/status/2008759990220161464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2026</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">[player_tooltip player_id='2146038' first='Clay' last='Kincaid'] puts an exclamation point on the Bulldogs&#039; win over Carlsbad with a dunk in the final moments.<br><br>📸 Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints <a href="https://t.co/i5CJbSFAKt">pic.twitter.com/i5CJbSFAKt</a></p>&mdash; 🏀 Brienne Green 🐾 (@ArtesiaSports) <a href="https://twitter.com/ArtesiaSports/status/2008746590413140368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2026</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">[player_tooltip player_id='1846065' first='Charlie' last='Campbell'] ties things up with a basket to close out the first half.<br><br>[player_tooltip player_id='2827160' first='Cael' last='Houghtaling'] (30) puts up a jumper for two.<br><br>📸 Artesia Bulldog Paw Prints <a href="https://t.co/QJQtVIFmca">pic.twitter.com/QJQtVIFmca</a></p>&mdash; 🏀 Brienne Green 🐾 (@ArtesiaSports) <a href="https://twitter.com/ArtesiaSports/status/2008737588442714288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2026</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html -->