Portales basketball capsules - Feb. 23

District 4-4A boys tournament

No. 4 Ruidoso (15-13) at No. 2 Portales (20-4)

6 p.m.

Last time out: The Warriors edged Moriarty 54-52 Tuesday night. Portales, the second seed, has been idle since a 65-52 loss at Hope Chrstian Saturday.

Last meeting: Feb. 10, Portales 61-40.

Notes: The Rams, who have suffered half of their losses to 4-4A champion Hope Christian, are hoping for a 5 p.m. Saturday rematch in Albuquerque. Portales should receive a high seed regardless of the 4-4A tournament results, and have a case for the No. 2 seed. They’re one of three 20-win teams in 4A., along with Hope Christian (22-4) and 3-4A champion Silver (21-4). The Rams have a head-to-head win over Silver and Roswell, the District 4-5A champion. Silver has a win against District 2-3A champion Lordsburg. The top three seeding criteria are finish in regular season district play, head-to-head and wins over district champions regardless of class. Outside of Hope Christian, the Rams won their six district games by an average of 26 points.

District 4-4A girls tournament

No. 3 Portales (14-9) at No. 2 Moriarty (18-6)

6 p.m.

Last time out: Portales routed Ruidoso 61-25 Tuesday night to open the tournament. Moriarty has been idle since winning its fourth-straight game, 50-27 over Ruidoso.

Last meeting: Feb. 7, Moriarty 38-30.

Notes: Both teams went 3-3 in the district, with sweeps against Ruidoso, a split with each other and sweeps at the hands of top-seeded Hope Christian. Moriarty’s eight-point win swung the point-differential tiebreaker and gave the Pintos the right to host the Thursday contest. The winner takes on Hope Christian in a 3 p.m. Saturday matchup in Albuquerque.

— compiled by Kevin Wilson