Rams late run stops Pintos

link DEREK MAJOR:

Staff photos

Rams point guard Matt Martinez stops in the lane to

take a jump shot in the

fourth quarter of the Rams

41-36 win over Moriarty on Tuesday night at the Ram

Athletic Center . Martinez

finished with a team

high 13 points on the

night.

Derek Major

Staff writer

[email protected]

The Portales Rams played Moriarty without their leading scorer and starting shooting guard but took control late in a 41-36 win over Moriarty.

Portales, which went without Bronte Staugaard (leg) and Alex Villanueva (flu) scored the final five points for their second-straight win and fourth in their last five games.

“What I told the kids was that I really liked tonight is that were playing really steady,” said Ram coach Rickie McBroom. “If you watched us play you couldn’t tell if we were ahead or behind. We’re just playing steady and I think that’s what you have to do over the course of several games you have to be consistent.”

A Cody Pisz free throw tied the game at 36 with just over four minutes left, but from there the Rams (8-9) held the Pintos scoreless.

Jeremie Karngbaye broke the ice with a layup and John Young added a free throw to give the Rams a three-point lead. The Pintos (4-15) got two attempts from center Jake Fleming, but Karngbaye’s defense proved to be too much and the Rams got the rebound off both shots.

Taz Tipton added tow more free throws and the Rams got one more stop before getting the rebound and dribbling out the clock.

“Coach trusted us and we played as great as a team and we worked hard tonight,” said Karngbaye, who scored seven points. “We didn’t let them get into a rhythm.”

Both teams go off to a slow start as the two teams combined for 17 points in the first quarter and 16 in the second quarter. “We started off pretty sluggish, even to begin the second half,” said guard Matt Martinez.

“We just kept with it and just played hard. We played hard the whole game and that helped.”

The Rams held a one-point lead heading into the second half but quickly lost it as the Pintos started the third on a 5-0 run, but the Rams rebounded as Matt Martinez scored seven of the team’s 10 points in the frame.

Jake Fleming led the Pintos with 15 points and Matt Martinez led the Rams with 13 on the night.

Both teams had trouble finding their stroke from the perimeter, as neither team made a three pointer in the game. The pintos shot just six free throws in the game, making four. The Rams shot 13, making nine.

The Rams will begin their district schedule Friday as they’ll host Ruidoso (6-11).

“We just have to continue to play consistently and we have to stay even throughout ballgames,” McBroom said. All four teams in 4A District 4 are currently under .500