Basketball Recap: Kyle Mesquita Key Part of Team Effort in Rockets Win

After having lost a blowout in their previous game against Lovington, Goddard was happy to have turned things around on Friday. They managed a 45-40 win over the Artesia Bulldogs. The victory was all the more spectacular given the Rockets' disadvantage in MaxPreps' New Mexico basketball rankings (they are ranked 77th, while the Bulldogs are ranked 15th).

Kyle Mesquita

Assists (Career)

02/21/25 vs Artesia	5
12/03/24 @ Deming	3
02/14/25 vs Portales	2
02/07/25 @ Artesia	2
02/01/25 @ New Mexico Military Institute	2

Goddard got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Kyle Mesquita out in front who went 5-for-9 to rack up 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 on his way to 12 points.

Mesquita wasn't the only one working in the assist department: Goddard was working as a unit and finished the game with 11 assists. That's a new trend for Goddard: they were averaging 5.2 assists per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 matchups they've averaged 8.4.

Goddard's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 11-14. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 52.3 points over those games. As for Artesia, their defeat was their first in the district, dropping their district record down to 5-1 and their overall record down to 17-8.

Looking ahead, Goddard is taking a road trip to face off against 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. As for Artesia, they will square off against 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.