Rams lose fourth straight at Robertson

LAS VEGAS, N.M. — Turnovers and fouls played major roles for the Portales Rams in Monday’s 50-49 overtime loss to Robertson, a game Portales coach Mark Gallegos felt his team had no business losing.

Jess Price had 13 points, including all six of the Cardinals’ overtime points, and 22 Portales turnovers contributed to the loss.

The Rams (2-4) forced overtime on a short jumper by Seth Clabaugh, who had 11 points. However, Portales was in foul trouble and had to play 4-on-5 in the game’s final minutes.

Ram guard Chris Carter, who had 14 points to lead the Rams, said the team was forced to play a 1-3 zone in the game’s final few minutes. Two Portales players fouled out, and five of the 11 in Monday’s lineup were junior varsity players who had no playing time left — players are limited to five quarters of action per night, with overtime counted as part of the fourth quarter.

Portales returns to action Saturday in its home debut against Moriarty. Following Saturday’s game, Portales will prepare for the Stu Clark Tournament (Dec. 26-28) in Las Vegas.

The Rams’ first round opponent? The Robertson Cardinals.

“It just holds a lot of extra meaning because we have something to play for,” Gallegos said. “We didn’t have anything to play for (Monday) and we took a lot of little things for granted.”

Terry Vasquez had 16 for the Cardinals. Chris Kirchner and Bo Gabriel scored eight each for the Rams, with Austin Pullen adding seven.

Gallegos said that senior post Russell Knudson, who sprained his left knee in Friday’s loss at Bernalillo, will be out for Saturday’s game. Knudson may be available for the Stu Clark Tournament, Gallegos said, in a “best-case scenario.”