Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
CMI staff
SANTA FE — Coach Rickie McBroom says his Portales Rams are playing as hard as they can. They’re just having a hard time finding the basket.
Portales struggled on offense for the third consecutive night in the St. Mike’s Shootout round-robin, losing on Saturday night to the host Horsemen 44-26.
Senior guard Chris Lovato had three 3-pointers and scored 15 points while senior post Justin Flores added 12 points for St. Michael’s (14-3), ranked No. 2 in Class 3A.
“The positive was our kids played with a lot of energy and effort tonight,” McBroom said. “We got some good shots in our offense, but it was the same as the last two nights — they just didn’t go in.
“We’re too good of shooters to keep missing. We just have to keep shooting the ball.”
The teams battled through four scoreless minutes at the start. By halftime, the Horsemen had opened a 23-16 lead, but McBroom said the Rams (8-8) still felt good about their situation.
St. Mike’s took control of the game by outscoring PHS 12-4 in the third period.
No one reached double figures for Portales, which had no one with more than two field goals. Senior forward Daniel Sanchez was the team’s leading scorer, finishing with eight points.
PHS returns to action on Friday at home against Texico, then travels to Moriarty on Saturday.
SUMMARY
St. Mike’s Shootout
St. Michael’s 44, Portales 26
Portales (8-8) — Matt Martinez 2 0-0 5, Ben Martinez 2 0-0 4, Isaiah Alvarado 1 0-0 3, Daniel Sanchez 2 4-5 8, Caleb Burciaga 1 0-0 2, Zach Campbell 2 0-0 4, John Young 0 0-1 0. Totals 10 4-6 26.
St. Michael’s (14-3) — Marcus Sandoval 2 2-3 6, Andrew Griego 1 4-4 7, Chris Lovato 5 2-2 15, Bradley Vaughan 0 0-1 0, Justin Flores 6 0-0 12, Isaiah Dominguez 2 0-1 4. Totals 16 8-11 44.
Portales 6 10 4 6 — 26
St. Michael’s 10 13 12 9 — 44
3-pointers — Portales, Alvardo, M. Martinez. St. Michael’s, Lovato 3, Griego. Junior varsity — Portales 48, St. Michael’s 39.