Rams split first two games

TEXICO - After making a pretty good run at Class 5A Clovis on Tuesday night, Texico pushed Portales High a bit in their Thursday matchup.

The Class 2A Wolverines cut a 19-point deficit to five in the final minute before the Rams nailed down a 62-55 victory at Texico Sports Arena.

Senior guard/forward Julian Tellez and 6-foot-4 junior post Greydon Rigsby each tallied personal bests of 24 points as Class 4A PHS (1-1) staved off the late comeback.

"They're very good," Rams coach Rickie McBroom said of the Wolverines (1-2). "They're picked No. 1 in their classification."

Portales owned the opening period 20-6 and held a double-figure margin well into the second half.

"We played at our tempo in the first quarter," McBroom said. "We were able to push the ball and we scored off some turnovers."

McBroom added that the Rams got some help from their bench after getting into some early foul trouble.

"We were able to withstand their runs," he noted.

Wolverines coach Craig Cook was a bit disappointed by his squad's slow start.

"We felt we should've been in a better position," he said. "But both of those teams (Clovis and Portales) made us better. We saw some different things that are going to help us going into our district."

Senior forward David Davalos scored 22 points for the Wolverines, while sophomore guard Jahvon Askew posted 14.

New Mexico Military 49, Portales 47, OT (Tuesday) - Perhaps not surprisingly, the Rams got off to a slow start in their season opener at the Ram Athletic Center with many of their players fresh off the football field.

The Colts (1-2) opened a 26-13 halftime lead before PHS mounted a comeback. Portales scored first in the OT session to take the lead, but couldn't hold on.

"It was just one of those things," McBroom said. "It seemed like the longer we played, the better we got.

"NMMI's tough, a very good team, but we had our chances."

Senior guard Ricardo Mata led the Colts with 15 points while junior guard Jaikayo Brown had 11. For the Rams, Rigsby finished with a double-double - 13 points, 13 rebounds - while senior post Kenevan Bailey added a pair of 3-pointers and 10 points.