Rams grab Saturday sweep at Moriarty

MORIARTY — It was a tough day to play basketball on Saturday.

Earlier in the week, two brothers who were in the Moriarty basketball program — one a varsity member, the other a freshman — were killed in an automobile accident. The Pintos were slated to travel to Portales on Friday and the Lady Pintos on Saturday, but the site was switched to accommodate Moriarty.

Portales won both games by nearly identical scores — 57-44 for the boys, 58-43 for the girls.

“I think our kids did a good job of showing respect to the family and the school,” PHS boys coach Rickie McBroom said. “We played pretty well; it was an emotional night. They had a huge crowd, and early they (Pintos) were feeding off the crowd.”

Senior Kellan Hightower scored 15 points for the Rams (6-10), who ended a five-game losing streak. Juniors Toni Ramos and Kenevan Bailey also reached double figures with 12 and 11, respectively.

The Pintos (5-8) held a 16-15 advantage at the quarter, but the Rams dominated the middle two stanzas to the tune of 26-13 to wrest control.

Six-foot-5 senior Tyler Ortiz led Moriarty with 16 points, and 6-3 senior Reyes Chavez netted 10. But the Pintos struggled mightily from the free throw line, going 12-for-30.

PHS girls 58, Moriarty 43 — The Lady Rams built an 18-point halftime cushion and stayed in control after that against the Lady Pintos.

Junior Kinzie Davis scored 12 points and had three 3-pointers for the Lady Rams (10-6), who stretched a four-point lead by outscoring Moriarty 22-8 in the second segment. The Lady Pintos (6-9) were unable to get the margin under double figures the rest of the way.

“They’ve got some really fast kids,” PHS girls coach Wade Fraze said. “They only made three 3s, but they shoot a lot of them and they’re capable of hitting a lot of them.”

Sophomore guards Riley Shillings and Teagan Faust added 10 points each for Portales. Shillings scored eight of hers in the second-quarter blitz, including a pair of 3s.

“Our pressure really got to them,” Fraze said of the second period. “We forced a lot of turnovers off the press.”

Sisters Payton and Kailei Edwards paced the Lady Pintos with 14 and 11 points, respectively.

The Rams were slated to face Carlsbad while the Lady Rams entertained Texico on Tuesday night at the RAC.