PHS BASKETBALL: Rams post sweep at St. Mike's

SANTA FE — Senior center Jeremie Karngbaye hit a pair of free throws with 15 seconds left in overtime and Portales High’s boys edged Silver 51-50 on Saturday to complete a sweep of the four-team St. Michael’s Shoot Out round-robin event.

Karngbaye finished with 17 points, including all five in OT, for PHS (14-2), which erased an 11-point, second-half deficit and forced overtime on a 3-pointer by senior guard Darion Ontiveros with just over a minute left in regulation.

“We had a great weekend,” PHS boys coach Rickie McBroom said. “Winning these three games was big for us. There were four top 10 (Class 4A) teams here.”

Junior forward Ethan Self added 12 points for the Rams, hitting four of the team’s eight 3-pointers. Sophomore guard Tristan Moore, who had four of Silver’s six 3s, and junior guard Tyler Gonzales both finished with 14 points for the Colts (11-4), who lost two of three over the weekend.

Portales used pressure defense to get back in it late.

“We started pressing full court,” McBroom said. “The kids did a great job, and our energy level went up.”

While hitting 9-of-11 shots from the foul line, including 7-of-9 for Karngbaye, the Rams were able to keep the Colts off the line — Silver went just 0-for-1 for the game.

The Rams open District 4-4A play on Friday when they travel to Moriarty. Girls teams from the schools play in the first half of the doubleheader at 5:30 p.m.

Friday

Rams — PHS held on during a high-scoring fourth quarter to post a 54-49 victory over host St. Michael’s.

Karngbaye led the Rams with 19 points, while Braden Bridges added 11.

The Rams outscored the Horsemen 27-22 after the teams went into the final segment tied 27-27.

Portales went 7-for-7 from the free throw line, while the Horsemen (7-8) were 17-for-19.

Senior post Luke Archuleta led four St. Michael’s players in double figures with 12 points, while senior guard Thomas Pacheco, sophomore guard Jevon Montoya and senior post Adam Tupler each added 10.

Lady Rams — The PHS girls, who had dropped five of six after an 8-0 start, got back to their winning ways with a 47-43 victory at former district-rival Lovington.

Senior Sky Marianito led the Lady Rams (10-5) with 15 points while sophomore Taylee Rippee chipped in 11. Portales won the game with the help of a 25-for-40 output from the free-throw line.

The Lady Wildcats (6-11) got a game-high 22 points from senior forward Azaria Stewart.