Basketball Recap: Portales Comes Up Short

Portales lost against Lovington back in March of 2024 and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Friday. The Portales Rams took a blow against the Lovington Wildcats, falling 79-46. The Rams were down 55-33 at the end of the third quarter, and things only got worse from there.

It was another big night for Kayle Covington, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 14 boards for Lovington. Lovington is 13-6 when Covington posts eight or more rebounds, but 1-3 otherwise. Elijah Rivero was another key player, putting up 11 points.

This is the second loss in a row for Portales and nudges their season record down to 11-11. Admittedly, the team was facing some tough opposition over that stretch, including 14-7 Artesia (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 63.8% over those games). As for Lovington, their win was their first in the district, bumping their district record up to 1-2 and their overall record up to 14-9.

Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Portales will challenge Goddard at 7:00 p.m. on February 14th. As for Lovington, they will square off against Artesia at 7:00 p.m. on February 14th. Artesia knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past three games -- so hopefully Lovington likes a good challenge.