Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Portales High junior Bradley Aguilar shoots over the defense of Lovington senior guard Julian Arroyo during Friday's District 4-4A boys clash at the RAC. The visiting Wildcats won 77-54.
Lovington kept scoring the ball during the second half of what had been a tight District 4-4A matchup against Portales High on Friday night at the Ram Athletic Center.
Meantime, the Rams all but stopped scoring.
The Wildcats turned a one-point lead at the intermission into a runaway, outscoring PHS 22-8 in the third quarter en route to a 77-54 victory.
Lovington (16-10, 4-2 district) earned the No. 2 seed in this week's 4-4A tournament. On Thursday night, the Wildcats host the winner of Tuesday's first-round tilt sending Roswell Goddard to Portales (15-11, 2-4), with that winner advancing to Friday's championship game at Artesia (18-6, 6-0).
PHS went toe-to-toe with Lovington in the first half, trailing 38-37 at the break. But the Rams managed only 17 points the rest of the way.
"We just didn't shoot the ball as well as we're capable," Rams coach Randy McBroom said of the second half. "We have to figure some things out. Hopefully, we'll get to play them again in the semifinals."
Junior guard Kayle Covington led three Wildcats in double digits with 18 points. Senior guard Julian Arroyo added 15 while senior forward Demarcus Thompson Jr. chipped in 14, including a 3-point play near the end of the opening stanza that put the Wildcats in front for good 19-18.
With several players in foul trouble for Portales, Lovington began to take over the boards in the final two cantos.
"We won the rebound battle in the first half, but not the second half," McBroom said. "That was a huge swing in their favor."
Sophomore forward Carson Pfaffenberger scored 14 points apiece for PHS, while junior forward Paxton Culpepper had 12. Pfaffenberger, slowed by foul problems, nonetheless finished with a double-double after grabbing 12 rebounds, while Hightower led the team in assists with five.
Artesia 71, Portales 48 (Tuesday) – Culpepper put together a personal-best 27 points, including 6-of-7 from 3-point range, but the Rams couldn't keep up in the second half at Artesia.
Culpepper had 20 of his points before halftime, keeping PHS in shouting distance at 36-28. The Bulldogs steadily pulled away over the final two cantos.
"For three quarters, we were right there," McBroom said. "The fourth quarter, it got away from us. Their depth is really something."
Culpepper's long-range shooting kept the Bulldogs from pulling too far ahead early. Artesia went on a 12-1 blitz early in the third to open a 17-point lead, and the margin stayed in double
Six-foot-7 sophomore forward Clay Kincaid led the Bulldogs with 20 points, including 14 in the first half, while sophomore guard Charlie Campbell scored all 16 of his points in the second half, including 13 in the final stanza. Senior guard Diego Wesson added 12, all before halftime.
