Rams' rally falls short against Andrews

PORTALES — Once Portales High’s boys picked up the pace on defense, it helped their offense.

Unfortunately for the Rams, it was just too little, too late on Saturday night.

Trailing by 12 points with less than four minutes to go, the Rams rallied to pull even with Andrews in the finale of the three-day Portales Shootout at the Ram Athletic Center. But the Mustangs converted 2-of-4 free throws in the final 30 seconds, and that was just enough to hold on for a 54-52 victory after a desperation 3-pointer by PHS was off the mark at the buzzer.

Andrews, playing its second game of the day after Jal canceled out due to health protocols, rode 19 points from junior Steven Hernandez and 14 from sophomore Jared Cargill to the victory. But it didn’t come easy.

“Their press turned us over a few times, especially at the end of the third quarter and in the fourth quarter,” Mustangs coach Todd Warren said. “They got us out of our rhythm and the flow we were in.”

Earlier, the Mustangs (13-8) dropped their second decision in two days to El Paso Cathedral 39-26. The teams agreed to meet a second time when Jal wasn’t able to go.

Portales (5-8) got off to a good start, building a 15-9 lead with under a minute left in the opening stanza on a 3-pointer by junior Davian Lucero. But Andrews held the Rams without a field goal for the next six minutes, outscoring PHS 22-6 in the second quarter to open a 33-21 advantage.

It was also a 12-point game heading into the final stanza, and still 51-39 when the Rams mounted their late comeback.

“We’ve been talking about playing with better energy, because they translates into offensive efficiency,” PHS boys coach Randy McBroom said. “They (Rams) worked their butts off in the fourth quarter, but that’s the type of game that will help us.”

Senior Kalen Hightower and junior Xodus Gomez both scored 11 points for Portales, and junior Emmanuel Diahn added 10. Gomez was also credited with seven steals, while senior Greydon Rigsby had five rebounds and four assists, Diahn added four rebounds and Hightower collected four assists.

Portales was slated to host Moriarty on Tuesday night, and takes on Clovis in a 6 p.m. makeup game today at the RAC.

Carlsbad 40, Portales girls 30 — PHS went on an 11-2 run for a six-point lead late in the opening canto, but the Cavegirls countered with a16-2 surge to take a 10-point advantage in a low-scoring slugfest.

“For 30 minutes, it was probably our worst game of the year,” Lady Rams coach Wade Fraze said. “The last two minutes we finally woke up and played.”

Portales (11-4), which saw a five-game winning streak end, pulled to 23-18 on a 3-pointer by senior Riley Shillings in the final minute of the third frame, but then went five minutes without a field goal as Carlsbad (11-4) re-established a 17-point cushion down the stretch.

“We have some pretty good shooters,” Cavegirls coach Matt Enloe said. “We had two big 3s (early in the second half) and that got us going a little.”

Carlsbad converted six 3-pointers in the game, including three by junior Kilea Estrada, who finished with 11 points. Junior Mariana Sepulveda took game honors with 12 points for the Cavegirls.

“Carlsbad did a great job,” Fraze said. “They play good defense, and they played a good game.”

Senior Taris Rippee tallied 11 points for PHS, while seniors Kylyie Paden and Adrianna Garcia each had five rebounds and senior Teagan Faust picked up three assists.