Rams overhaul Goddard

PORTALES – Portales High's boys posted an exhilarating win on Friday night to start District 4-4A action.

Meantime, the Lady Rams came up just a bit short.

The boys erased a nine-point halftime deficit to topple Roswell Goddard 64-55 at the Ram Athletic Center, while the Lady Rams led most of the way through regulation, only to fall in overtime 61-54 to the Lady Rockets.

In the boys tilt, the Rams (13-7 overall) led early before the Rockets (10-11) stormed back for a 38-29 halftime lead. PHS finally overhauled Goddard in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Rockets 22-5 behind eight points each from senior guard Xodus Gomez and sophomore guard Paxton Culpepper.

Rams coach Randy McBroom credited the PHS student section with boosting his squad.

"The student section was loud, and it was cool," he said. "Props to the Portales people for showing up tonight."

Culpepper finished with a trio of 3-pointers and a personal-best 23 points for the Rams, while Gomez went 8-for-8 from the foul line and added 17 points and junior guard Braden Beck chipped in 10.

Portales trailed by 13 points in the third quarter before rallying. The Rockets led 50-42 entering the final stanza, but managed only a 2-point basket and a 3 from junior forward Christian Zapata during the period.

"We had some guys make some big plays down the stretch," McBroom said. "We took the lead with about three minutes left."

Six-foot-5 senior Rhett Price paced the Rockets with 14 points, while Zapata and junior Dominic Ramirez chipped in 11 apiece.

Goddard 62, Portales 56 (girls) – The Lady Rams built a nine-point halftime lead, holding Goddard to 12 points in the process, but couldn't hold off the Lady Rockets (14-7 overall), who outscored PHS 14-7 in the extra session.

Senior guard Ericca Cannon scored 27 points and had three of Goddard's seven 3-point baskets. She also went 12-for-13 from the free throw line.

"Ericca Cannon is hard to stop," PHS girls coach Wade Fraze said. "She's probably the best individual player we've played against this year."

Portales (10-10) went 5-of-6 from the foul line in the OT, but struggled on free throws overall, finishing 18-of-37. The Lady Rams also went the entire game without a 3-point basket.

Senior forward Clara Hatch and junior guard Eden Chavira added nine points each for Goddard. Sophomore guard Angel Ornelas posted a double-double for the Lady Rams with 16 points and 12 rebounds and added nine rebounds and four steals, while sophomore Myleigh Banda had 10 points.

PHS squads are back in action on Tuesday at Artesia.