Rams survive Kirtland Central

It certainly wasn’t the way the Portales Rams wanted to start their chase for the blue trophy, but they survived a tough Kirtland Central Broncos team on Saturday, winning 81-71 and advancing to the second round of the New Mexico state basketball tournament.

Portales (18-9) scored the first two points of the game but then watched the Broncos respond with a 12-1 burst. The Rams slowly ate away at the lead thanks to a Junior Ramirez corner 3 and four-straight points by Jordan Davis to cut the lead to five.

“We always tell our kids that everyone we play is going to play with a lot of adrenaline,” Portales coach Rickie McBroom said. “We have to let that cool down. We started playing better defense in the last half of the quarter.”

Staff photo: Matthew Asher

Portales junior guard Junior Ramirez shoots a floater in the second quarter of Saturday’s game against Kirtland Central. Ramirez led all scorers with 22 points and Portales won 81-71.

With the Rams still trailing by three points with 30 seconds left in the quarter, Ramirez took the clock down to the final second before scoring a buzzer-beating layup, keeping Portales within one point to start the second quarter.

It looked like the Rams were going to take control in the second quarter as Portales used part of a 17-4 run to go up 34-26 but the Broncos weren’t done yet as Kirtland Central went on a 10-2 run including three free throws with one second left in the half to tie the game at 36.

“When we got down, we didn’t pump it inside as much,” Davis said. “We were unbalanced with our inside and outside games. I think that’s what helped in the second half as we got balanced. Everyone got lots of touches both inside and outside. Everyone on our team was at the top of their game tonight.”

With the game tied at 36 at the end of the half, Portales went back to their basics of getting the ball inside to their big men as the Rams started to build a small cushion.

“At halftime we emphasized that we didn’t get the ball inside enough,” McBroom said. “Our two posts, Jeremie (Karngbaye) and Jordan, had just seven shots. We needed to go back and get some touches with our posts. I think we got a little carried away with the energy in the first half.”

While Karngbaye and Davis were one part of the pivotal third quarter, it was two key 3s that gave the Rams the eventual edge. Ramirez started off the quarter by making one of his five total treys. Once again with the game clock winding down, Ramirez drove the lane, but rather than shoot this time, he found Tyrese Dawson who buried a 3 as the third quarter ended, giving the Rams an eight-point lead and signaled the end for the Broncos.

Staff photo: Matthew Asher

Portales senior forward Bronte Staugaard goes for a 3 in the second half of Saturday's game against Kirtland Central as his team prepares to cheer the basket. Staugaard missed the shot but scored 14 points.

“I was supposed to go to the basket on that play,” Ramirez said. “Tyrese was open and he made his shot.”

Ramirez finished with 22 points, leading all scorers but he was far from the only Ram in double figures. Four total Rams, including Davis (16), Karngbaye (16) and Bronte Staugaard (14) combined for 68 points.

Both Davis and Karngbaye had double-doubles as Karngbaye pulled down 15 rebounds and Davis followed with 10. Ramirez added six assists and Staugaard had two steals as well.

Kirtland Central (12-16) couldn’t close the gap in the fourth quarter as the lead stayed around 10 points throughout the rest of the game.

“We had too many turnovers in the second half,” Kirtland Central coach Brian Dowdy said. “We didn’t take care o f the ball very well. I felt like we got complacent and didn’t attack the rim as much as we typically do in a normal game. But give Portales credit. They worked their tails off.”

Three Broncos finished in double figures with Bryson Dowdy (18) leading the way and was followed by Ty Yellowman (15) and Riley Hamblin (11). Still, Portales just proved too much for the Broncos as the Rams inside game put the Broncos in foul trouble as both Bernel Miller and Hamblin fouled out in the fourth quarter, allowing the Rams to let the seconds tick away to officially punch their ticket to the quarterfinals.

“Give Kirtland credit for their effort,” McBroom said. “Their kids played real hard. I told our kids that it’s all about winning and advancing now and that’s what we did.”

The Rams will now head to the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, where they will take on the second-seeded Robertson Cardinals in a 4:45 p.m. Wednesday quarterfinal. These two teams met back during the St. Michael’s Shoot-Out in Santa Fe on Jan. 14, with the Cardinals winning 59-53.