Rams finish fourth in Stu Clark tournament

LAS VEGAS, N.M. – It was a disappointing ending to the Stu Clark Invitational for the Portales Rams.

After winning its tourney opener, PHS dropped the next two games, including an 86-67 decision to Belen in Friday’s third-place contest.

Junior guard Damian Avila poured in six of the Eagles’ 11 3-pointers en route to 33 points. He got 22 of them in the first half, when Belen (5-6) opened a 45-33 lead behind a 28-point second quarter.

Junior guards Alan Moreno and Jasode Harris each had a pair of 3s and finished with 18 and 14 points, respectively, with Moreno tallying 13 of his in the final stanza to help put the contest away.

For the Rams (8-3), junior guard Joel Lujan notched a personal-best 20 points and had two of the team’s six trifectas, while sophomore post Carson Pfaffenberger also tallied 20 points. Junior forward Paxton Culpepper added 10 and junior guard Jase Hightower nine.

Las Vegas Robertson won the tournament with a 58-39 win over previously unbeaten West Las Vegas. St. Michael’s beat Pecos 70-51 to claim fifth place, and Socorro downed Taos 70-61 for seventh.

PHS returns to action this weekend in the three-day Portales Shootout at the RAC. The Rams take on Pojoaque on Thursday and Alamogordo on Friday in 7 p.m. starts, then finish against Robertson in a 5:30 p.m. tipoff on Saturday.

West Las Vegas 75, Portales 50 (Thursday, semifinals) – In a battle of two of the top teams in their respective classes, the Class 3A top-ranked Dons pulled away by outscoring the Class 4A No. 2 Rams 24-14 in the second segment for a 41-26 advantage at the intermission. Portales was never able to mount a comeback.

“They’re 9-0 for a reason,” Rams coach Randy McBroom said. “They played better than us tonight. It just happens sometimes.”

Eight players scored for West Las Vegas, including seven with at least six points. Senior forward P.J. Montano and junior guard Ethan Tafoya each notched six of their game-high 14 points in the second frame, while sophomore forward Devaughn Kensey and junior guard Deshaun Kensey added 13 and 10, respectively.

Leading the way for the Rams were Culpepper with 11 and Lujan and junior guard Bradley Aguilar with 10 apiece.

Portales 55, Taos 49 (Wednesday, quarterfinals) – Except for a 6-6 tie, the Rams led all the way and held off a belated run by the Tigers in a rematch of a first-round Class 4A state playoff game last spring, won by Taos.

Culpepper led the Rams with 18 points and five assists, while Pfaffenberger added 12 points and 10 rebounds and Aguilar finished with 10 points.

“We played well,” McBroom said. “I think we only had seven turnovers. They got out and tried to press us, but we handled it pretty well.”

PHS broke the early tie with a 10-0 run and kept the margin between seven and 12 points most of the way.

Late in the half, the Rams put together an 8-0 surge before a basket by Tigers sophomore guard Evan Salazar made it 30-21 at the break. Portales built its biggest lead of the night at 48-35 on a basket by Aguilar about midway through the final period.

Taos got as close as five late, but two free throws each by sophomore Ethan Crawford and Culpepper put the match out of reach.