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Portales sweeps Ruidoso to open district

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Home games, as they often are, could be decisive this season in the tight District 4-3A boys basketball race.

link CMI staff photo: Tony Bullocks

Portales senior Jarret Faust goes for the lay up against Ruidoso in the first half of Friday night’s game at the Ram Athletic Center.

Ruidoso, which edged Lovington 57-55 at home in the district opener on Tuesday, had a chance to go 2-0 on Friday night at the Ram Athletic Center. A 13-point deficit late in the third quarter simply was too much to overcome, though, and Portales held on late for a 39-35 victory.

Senior post Zach Campbell scored 16 points and added seven rebounds for the Rams (12-10, 1-0), who snapped a two-game losing streak. The Warriors (8-14, 1-1) had a chance to tie in the final minute, but a 3-point try by senior forward Luis Marquez was off the mark.

Junior Matt Martinez then hit 1-of-2 free throws with 2.1 seconds left to seal the win.

“I felt like we were in control most of the game,” Rams coach Rickie McBroom said. “The difference in the game was our rebounding — we limited them to one shot for the most part. And we also took care of the basketball.”

Campbell’s rebound basket with 2:43 left in the first quarter gave PHS the lead for good. He had back-to-back baskets to extend the margin to 31-18 with 2 1/2 minutes left in the third period, but the Rams had just one field goal the rest of the way.

Campbell agreed that most of the district games will probably be like the first two. The Rams’ second and final home district game is on Tuesday against Lovington (9-13, 0-1).

“Everybody comes out to play during district, no matter what,” Campbell said. “We’ve got to have these two (home games), for sure.

“We knew they were good shooters. The game’s not over until it’s zeros (on the scoreboard).”

Playing off the bench, Vasquez scored all 10 of his points — including two 3-pointers — in the second half. The Warriors put up a ton of 3s, but managed to hit only four.

“I expected it to be close,” Warriors coach Dennis Davis said. “Portales has been playing pretty well, and we’ve been playing pretty well. They just had a few more things go their way than we did.”

Only 17 fouls were called — just six on Portales — and neither team reached the bonus until the late foul sending Martinez to the line.

“I really think our pre-district schedule helped us tonight,” McBroom said. “We played something like the fourth-toughest schedule in 3A in the state.

“We won it tonight on the defensive end. They’ve got shooters, but we contested their shots most of the night.”

Portales 39, Ruidoso 35

Ruidoso (8-14, 1-1) — Adam Ramos 2 0-0 6, Isaac Gilliland 0 0-0 0, Brandon Atchley 0 0-0 0, Anfrenee Rocha 3 0-0 6, Luis Marquez 4 0-0 10, Travis Mosher 4 1-2 9, Justin Platta 0 0-0 0, Blayne Maldonado 1 2-4 4. Totals 14 3-6 35.

Portales (12-10, 1-0) — Matt Martinez 2 2-4 6, Jarret Faust 2 0-0 4, Ben Martinez 0 0-0 0, Isaiah Alvarado 2 0-0 5, Caleb Burciaga 1 0-0 2, Zach Campbell 6 4-6 16, Bronte Staugaard 1 0-1 2, Paul Conrow 0 0-0 0, Nathan Chavez 1 1-2 4. Totals 15 7-13 39.

Ruidoso 7 9 8 11 — 35

Portales 11 11 10 7 — 39

3-pointers — Ruidoso, Marquez 2, Ramos 2. Portales, Alvarado, Chavez. Rebounds — Ruidoso 29, Portales 28 (Burciaga 8). Assists — Ruidoso n/a, Portales 7 (Faust 2). Total fouls — Ruidoso 11, Portales 6. Fouled out — none. Junior varsity — Portales 6

PHS girls 57, Ruidoso 21 — In the first half of the doubleheader, the Lady Rams rolled to a 38-13 halftime lead and cruised to victory behind 11 points each from senior guard Francis Armijo and sophomore forward Kambrey Blakey. All but three of their combined points came in the first half as PHS coach Wade Fraze made extensive use of his bench in the final two stanzas.

link CMI staff photo: Tony Bullocks

Portales senior Francis Armijo steals the ball from Ruidoso’s junior Jules Muniz in the first half of Friday night’s game at the Ram Athletic Center.

“We wanted to come out and play well (early),” Fraze said. “The last couple of games we’d come out a little slow, but the girls responded.”

Armijo was credited with nine steals, seven in the first half, while senior forward Simone Laurenz played well off the bench with eight points and a team-high five rebounds.

For Ruidoso (3-15, 0-2), which has seven freshmen on its roster, freshman forward Lia Mosher finished with a team-high eight points and added 14 rebounds and seven blocked shots.

The top-ranked Lady Rams (18-2, 1-0) expect a much stiffer challenge on Tuesday night when they host second-ranked Lovington.

“We’ve got to be ready,” Fraze said. “They’ve only lost four times all year, and three of them are to (Class) 5A schools. It’ll be a big game at home.”

Portales 57, Ruidoso 21

Ruidoso (3-15, 0-2) — Dennise Martinez 0 0-0 0, Jules Muniz 2 2-3 6, Janessa Melendez 0 1-2 1, Ariel Aguilar 0 0-0 0, Alexa Davis 1 2-2 4, Sierra Davis 1 0-0 2, Lia Mosher 4 0-2 8, Darian Magooshboy 0 0-0 0, Korey King 0 0-0 0. Totals 8 5-9 21.

Portales (18-2) — Bailey Schillings 1 1-2 4, Francis Armijo 5 1-1 11, Bailey Rowley 1 1-4 4, Sheraya Cox 1 4-4 6, Amanda Schmidt 1 0-0 2, Brittany Gonzales 0 1-2 1, Brooke Lopez 0 2-4 2, Kambrey Blakey 5 0-0 11, Kacie Terry 0 0-0 0, Simone Laurenz 3 2-2 8, Savannah Vincent 1 0-2 2, McKenzie Bucksath 2 2-4 6. Totals 20 14-25 57.

Ruidoso 6 7 4 4 — 21

Portales 20 18 9 10 — 57

3-pointers — Ruidoso, none. Portales, Blakey, Rowley, Schillings. Total fouls — Ruidoso 16, Portales 13. Fouled out — none. Junior varsity — Portales 65, Ruidoso 33.

 
 
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