Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
FARWELL – Portales High’s boys expected to have their work cut out for them in Saturday’s Farwell Invitational final against Class 1A Fort Sumner, and they weren’t disappointed.
Juniors Jase Hightower and Paxton Culpepper posted personal bests of 22 and 21 points, respectively, as the Rams rallied in the final stanza to top the defending 1A New Mexico champion Foxes 69-63.
In the girls’ championship game, Farwell had no trouble with Littlefield, rolling to a 57-28 victory.
Portales (3-0) needed a 22-10 fourth-quarter rally, sparked by eight points from Hightower, to overcome a six-point deficit. Culpepper also had a team-high 12 rebounds to go with four assists, while Hightower grabbed seven boards and handed out three dimes.
Junior Joel Lujan added 12 points and four assists for PHS.
“That’s a good Class 1A team,” Rams coach Randy McBroom said. “There’s a reason they go get into bigger-school tournaments.”
Portales held a 42-34 edge on the glass. For the Foxes (2-1), sophomore Brad Holland tallied six of the team’s 11 3-pointers and finished with 24 points, while senior Joaquin Segura added 18.
In the girls matchup, junior Makylee Baldwin scored 10 of her game-high 16 points in the opening stanza, which ended with Farwell (12-2) in front 23-2. Juniors Natalie Wade, Kennady Waldrop and Landri Richey all added nine points for the Lady Blue.
Waldrop had three of the team’s nine 3-pointers in the contest. Farwell outscored its three opponents for the weekend by a combined 219-63.
The Lady Wildcats (8-4) were topped by eight points from senior Kennadi Hanlin.
In other boys games on Saturday:
Farwell 48, Littlefield 45 – The Steers led by 10 early in the third quarter, then fell behind by as much at three points before finishing the contest on a 10-4 run that started with a 3-point play from senior Jorge Vazquez and ended with two 3-pointers and a free throw from sophomore Braddock Foster.
Foster’s first three tied the score 41-41. His second gave the Steers (4-3) a 47-45 advantage with a minute left.
Foster led Farwell with 16 points while senior Corey Stancell added 11. The Wildcats (10-2) were paced by 11 points apiece from senior Omar Martinez and junior Kam McCarty.
Texico wins twice – The Wolverines (4-3) rebounded from losses on each of the first two days to beat Muleshoe 74-34 and Sundown 67-22, claiming seventh place.
Against the Mules (2-6), junior Steen North and sophomore Bennett Wahlen each had 12 points, while senior Daltyn Cain added 11 and senior Cade Figg nine. Junior Nathan Martens had 10 points for Muleshoe, and junior Aaron Morales chipped in nine.
In the win over Sundown (0-8), freshman Jett Curtis had three 3-pointers and 15 of his 19 points in the first half, which ended with Texico leading by 30. Figg added 16, including 12 before the intermission, while the Roughnecks got a pair of 3s and eight points from junior Adan Escamilla.
In other final-day boys tilts, Hale Center defeated Lockney 71-37 and then lost to Silverton (score n/a).
For the girls on Saturday:
Portales 65, Fort Sumner 34 — The Lady Rams (2-1) went on an 18-2 spree in the second quarter and coasted past the Vixens in the third-place game.
Four players scored in double digits for Portales, including junior Evannie Fulfer with 14, senior Audrey Paden with 13 and juniors Tya Rippee with 11 – nine in the first half – and Angel Ornelas with 10. Junior Myleigh Banda, added nine points, while senior Brenna Jewell grabbed 10 rebounds and dished seven assists and Paden collected seven assists and six steals.
“I know it was (against) a smaller school, but that was the best game we’ve played,” PHS girls coach Wade Fraze said. “The style was more of how we want to play.”
Junior Alyssa Casaus led Fort Sumner (1-2) with eight points.
Silverton 48, Muleshoe 32 – The Lady Owls (4-3) scored the first 11 points of the third quarter to extend a four-point lead and went on to claim third place in the tournament.
Sophomore Maddie Francis led Silverton with 20 points, while senior Brenna Francis tallied 13 of her 17 points over the final two stanzas. Senior Riley Woodard led Muleshoe (4-12) with eight points.
Canyon junior varsity 49, Texico 21 – The Lady Eagles jumped on top 13-4 in the first quarter and never looked back as Townli Wheeler scored 15 points and Emma Black tossed in 10. Texico (1-5) was led by senior Sonia Ortiz with five points.
