Basketball Recap: Rank Disadvantage No Problem for Denver City

Denver City lost to Portales back in December of 2018, but they didn't allow them the same satisfaction on Saturday. The Denver City Mustangs managed a 59-55 win over the Portales Rams. The victory was all the more spectacular given the Mustangs' disadvantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 587th in Texas, while the Rams are ranked 71st in New Mexico).

Despite the loss, Portales saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Pierce Culpepper went 7 for 16 on his way to 17 points in addition to seven boards and four steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Carson Pfaffenberger, who dropped a double-double on ten points and 13 boards.

Denver City is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a nice bump to their 12-6 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.3 points per game. As for Portales, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-7.

Denver City wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next match, a 52-46 win against Wink on the 31st. As for Portales, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 68-39 loss against Carlsbad on the 2nd.