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FARWELL INVITE: PHS squads win openers at Farwell

FARWELL – Junior Joel Lujan scored four of Portales High's six points in overtime and the Rams handed Littlefield its first loss of the season 67-65 in Thursday's first round of the 10-team Farwell Invitational.

Five players accounted for all the scoring for the Rams (2-0), and all five reached double digits – sophomore Carson Pfaffenberger with 17 points and juniors Xavier Tarpeh with 15, Jase Hightower with 13, Lujan with 12 and Paxton Culpepper with 10. Tarpeh had all but two of his points after halftime.

Littlefield (9-1) used a 27-point second quarter to open a 38-27 halftime lead, but the Rams rallied back to force overtime at 61-61.

Junior Kam McCarty scored 23 points for the Wildcats, but only four came after the intermission and he was the team's only player in double figures.

Portales won the rebound battle 35-26, led by Hightower with nine, Pfaffenberger with eight and Culpepper with seven. Hightower added seven assists while Culpepper delivered five.

In other first-round tilts:

Lockney 59, Farwell 56 – Senior Nathan Hernandez led three players in double figures with 17 points for the Longhorns, who erased a five-point halftime deficit and took advantage of 26 Steers turnovers.

Senior Dahlen Silva added 12 points and sophomore Daniel Alvarado 11 for Lockney (4-4). Junior Ryder McElroy topped the Steers (1-3) with 17 points, and junior Jorge Vasquez collected 12.

Hale Center 65, Texico 54 – Carter Gonzales, Aidan Baldridge and Ryan Mesquite combined for 43 points, and the Owls erased a three-point halftime deficit with a 24-point output in the third stanza that included six 3-point baskets.

Gonzales finished with 16 points, Baldridge had 15 and Mesquite collected 12 for Hale Center (4-2). Top scorers for Texico (2-2) were senior Cade Figg and junior Alex Fuentes, each with 12 points.

Silverton 41, Muleshoe 35 – The Owls (4-2) got double-figure scoring from Tatum Waller (15), Carlos Alanis (12) and Sawyer Francis (10) in turning back the Mules (2-4).

Silverton held an 18-13 lead after the first stanza and matched baskets with Muleshoe the rest of the way. Junior Sebastian Kirven was the Mules' high scorer with eight points.

Also on Thursday, Fort Sumner posted a 64-39 victory over Sundown.

In girls play on Thursday:

Portales 46, Silverton 30 – The Lady Rams erased a two-point deficit at the quarter, holding Silverton (3-2) to just 17 points over the final three stanzas.

Junior Angel Ornelas led PHS with 15 points while senior Audrey Paden chipped in 12.

High scorers for the Lady Owls (3-2) were sophomore Maddie Francis with 13 points and senior Brenna Francis with 10.

Farwell 85, Texico 15 – The host Lady Blue bolted to a 22-1 lead at the quarter and cruised from there behind a personal-best 33-point performance from junior Makayla Baldwin.

Juniors Natalie Wade and Landri Richey chipped in 15 and 11, respectively, for Farwell (10-2). Meantime, the Lady Wolverines (1-3) got five points from senior Kaya New.

Fort Sumner 45, Muleshoe 42 – The Lady Mules got out to a 9-0 lead and led virtually all the way, but the Vixens converted five of six free throws during a late 7-0 run to overhaul them.

Junior Allie Sleep scored eight of her game-high 16 points in the opening frame to keep Fort Sumner, playing its season opener, in striking distance. Junior Megan Moran tallied 11 points for Muleshoe (3-11).

In the first girls quarterfinal of the day, Littlefield posted a 42-36 victory over the Canyon junior varsity.