Rams fall to St. Michael's

STAFF REPORT

SANTA FE — Two games into the St. Michael’s Shoot Out and the Portales Rams are still looking for their first win.

On Friday night, PHS dropped a 68-55 decision to the host Horsemen.

St. Michael’s (5-8) built a 35-20 lead after the first two quarters, fueled primarily by its 3-point shooting.

“They came out and hit nine 3s in the first half,” Portales coach Rickie McBroom said. “They were on fire. It was amazing. We talked to our kids about coming up in the second half and cutting it under 10 points.”

The Rams (7-8) responded when play resumed, outscoring St. Mike’s 19-11 in the third quarter to cut the margin to eight. They got as close as three points in the fourth quarter.

Bronte Staugaard (18), Jeremie Karngbaye (17) and Tyrese Dawson (13) combined for 48 points to give the Rams a chance to come away with the victory.

“We played with a lot more intensity in the second half,” McBroom said. “We had cut it to three, but we had expended a lot of energy by then and they made 12 free throws in the fourth quarter. Still, I thought we bounced back well in the second half.”

Alex Garcia had two 3-pointers and scored 24 points for St. Mike’s, while Thomas Pacheco (14) had four 3s and Cameron Conway (14) added three more.

The Rams finish play in the three-day round-robin with a 5 p.m. tipoff today against Silver (8-5).