Rams fall short in overtime in bid for crown

POJOAQUE – Portales High’s boys erased a double-digit deficit in the final quarter on Saturday night, only to come up short in the championship game of Pojoaque’s Ben Lujan tournament.

The host Elks recovered in the extra session, outscoring the Rams 10-8 to claim a 66-64 victory.

Senior guard Tobias Velasquez tallied 19 points, including five 3-pointers, to lead the way for Pojoaque (9-2). Senior guard Derek Sanchez added 15.

The Rams (5-4) trailed by as much as 12 points in the second half, and by 11 before outscoring the Elks 24-13 in the final stanza.

“I have to give our kids a lot of credit,” PHS boys coach Randy McBroom said. “It would’ve been easy to let that game get out of hand.”

Sophomore guard Paxton Culpepper went 8-for-8 from the free throw line, including 6-for-6 in the fourth period, and finished with 10 points. Meantime, senior center Emmanual Diahn scored a team-high 12 points and had a strong all-around outing.

“Emmanuel Diahn had a really good game,” McBroom said.

Six players had at least eight points for Portales. Junior guard Braden Back also reached double digits with 10 points off the bench, including a pair of 3-pointers, while Culpepper and senior forward Davian Lucero each grabbed seven rebounds.

Culpepper and senior guard Xodus Gomez represented Portales on the all-tournament squad.

The Rams played their final pre-Christmas game on Tuesday against Lubbock Christian at the RAC. Portales returns to action in next week’s Wildcat Invitational at Littlefield.

Clovis boys 57, Espanola Valley 35 – The Wildcats rebounded from a tough loss at Artesia on Thursday night, breaking the game against the host Sundevils wide open with a 22-5 scoring edge in the third frame.

“We came out ready to play today,” CHS coach Josh Mattox said. “We accomplished what we were supposed to do and took care of business.”

Already leading 26-15 at the break, the Cats (5-3) rode eight of senior guard Brian Weiss’ nine points to open a 48-20 lead through three frames.

“We just put a lot of pressure on them,” Mattox said. “We finally made some easy layups that we were missing in the first half.”

The only player in double digits for Clovis was junior guard Keilyn Parker with 12, but 10 others contributed points.

The rebuilding Sundevils (1-9), who lost to the Cats at The Rock last season but posted 21 wins and reached the quarterfinals of Class 4A state tournament, were never able to mount a charge. Senior guard Jacob Torresday was Espanola’s top scorer with nine points.

The Cats host the K. Barnett & Sons Holiday tournament this week at The Rock. They had a bye in Tuesday’s first round and will face the winner between Sandia and Socorro in a 7:30 p.m. semifinal matchup today.