Rams falter late in 65-58 loss to Eagles
Dec. 24—PORTALES — For three quarters, Portales High's boys had a pretty good handle on Tuesday's matchup with Lubbock Christian at the Ram Athletic Center.
Then the Eagles erupted for a 30-point fourth quarter and pulled away to a 65-58 win over the Rams.
"They had some guys who made some plays in the fourth quarter," Rams coach Randy McBroom said. "A lot of their guys have been starting for three or four years."
Portales (5-5) got off to a solid start, leading by five points at the end of each of the first two cantos and building that to 43-35 after three.
"We played well," McBroom said of the first three stanzas. "The kids really executed the game plan.
"We're definitely making progress. We keep working for that point where we start winning some of these games."
But senior Trew Farris scored nine of his game-high 17 points in the final stanza, while senior forward Adam Fleming, junior guard Joe Fernihough and senior guards, Riley Schroeder and Luke Lee combined for the other 17.
Fleming finished with 15 points, Fernihough 13 and Schroeder 10 for the Eagles (9-2). Fernihough had two of his three 3-pointers in the period.
Sophomore forward Paxton Culpepper led PHS with 13 points, including three 3-pointers, while senior center Emmanuel Diahn and senior guard Xodus Gomez each added 11.
The Rams return to action next week in the eight-team Stu Clark Invitational at Las Vegas, N.M. Their quarterfinal contest on Thursday sends them against Las Vegas Robertson in the final tilt of the day at 7:30 p.m.
Lady Rams fall to Lubbock Christian — In the first half of the varsity twin bill, the Lady Eagles held PHS to eight first-half points and registered a 45-34 victory.
No one reached double digits for Lubbock Christian, by nine players reached the scoring column. Senior guard Emily Galbraith and senior forward Callie Roberts led the way with nine points each, while sophomore guard Katty Evans and sophomore forward Raegan Lee had eight apiece.
Lubbock Christian (8-7) outscored PHS 11-3 in the second stanza to open a nine-point lead, then pulled away with a 20-point fourth quarter.
"We should've gotten this game," Lady Rams coach Wade Fraze said. "It seemed like when it rained, it poured tonight. This is definitely a team we could have and should have beaten, but we didn't get the job done."
Sophomore post Evannie Fulfer was the only player in double figures for either side, finishing with 11 points for the Lady Rams.
Portales travels to the Littlefield Invitational starting on Tuesday. The Lady Rams face Texas Class 1A power Slidell (16-1) in their opening matchup at 5 p.m. (MST).
