Roswell overpowers Rams in season opener

The Roswell Coyotes are going to be quite a force in Class 4A when sophomore Alex Olesinski is on the floor.

Turns out they're a pretty good team, and a good measuring stick for the Portales Rams, even when Olesinski's on the bench.

CMI Correspondnet: Joshua Lucero

Portales junior Zach Blaeser pushes past Roswell Coyote Matthew Sedillo on his way to a hook shot in the first half of the Rams game against the Roswell Coyotes Friday evening at the Ram Athletic Center.

The 6-foot-7 sophomore scored all of his 13 points in the second half after spending the first half on the bench with three fouls, and keyed a 21-4 burst that pushed the visiting Coyotes to a 77-60 victory Friday night at the Ram Athletic Center.

Cesar Nava scored 19 points to lead four in double figures for Roswell (2-0), which trailed only once against a comeback-minded Ram squad playing its season-opener.

"They played well," Roswell coach Britt Cooper said. "They did a solid job with Olesinski, getting him into foul trouble. That hurt us."

Roswell, idle since a 93-40 win over Ruidoso on Nov. 20, started the night on a 12-2 run and forced turnovers on eight of Portales' first 10 possessions.

But the Rams (0-1) answered back, with Nathan Chavez scoring five points to kickstart a 9-0 run, and the teams traded runs for much of the first half as foul trouble took Roswell out of its harassing defense.

The Rams played well in stretches, even taking a 41-40 lead on Zach Blaeser's 3-pointer with 5:56 left in the third. But Roswell made the runs when needed.

"They are a great ball team," Portales coach Rickie McBroom said. "They full-court press, they half-court trap. They played a little zone, had a lot of that 1-1-2 press.

"We've just got to improve on our execution, and the kids are going to do that, no doubt."

Following Blaeser's 3-pointer, the Coyotes answered on their next possession with a three-point play from Johnnail Leonard, took the lead for good on a Nava trey, and got key baskets and defensive rebounds from Olesinski to close out the third.

"He's just a sophomore, but he played a lot of time as a freshman," Cooper said of Olesinski, who added six rebounds and a pair of blocks. "He's a Division-I caliber player. He's just got to play smarter."

Daniel Sanchez scored 14 points to lead Portales, while Blaeser added 11.

"I think we're beginning to form an identity," McBroom said. "What I see is that we're really hard-nosed. Our kids stay at it, stay at it, and I like that a lot.

"I'm pleased with our effort. We've got to improve in the execution. We're going to be a better team when we step out on the floor Tuesday night at Roswell Goddard."

Stephen Lucero scored 12 and Anthony Olguin 11 for Roswell, which put the game on ice with a 10-0 run in the last half of the fourth quarter.