The Santa Teresa Desert Warriors controlled the first three quarters of their game against Portales in Friday night’s opening round of the Portales Shootout.

The Rams dominated the final quarter, though, and that was enough for Portales to win the game 37-36.

Down by 10 points to open the fourth quarter, the Rams pulled close with a 9-0 run highlighted by two baskets from junior forward Marcus Slocum. Portales outscored the Desert Warriors 15-4 in the final period.

Rams coach Mark Gallegos said his team allowed Santa Teresa (10-5) to set the pace early.

“If you let them dictate the tempo, then that’s what’s going to happen,” Gallegos said.

After the Rams (5-6) opened the game with two early baskets, Santa Teresa dominated the rest of the first quarter, going on a 10-2 run. The Desert Warriors extended their advantage at the half to 22-15.

Santa Teresa junior Louis Rodriguez gave his team a 10-point lead going into the fourth quarter with a mid-range jump shot.

“That’s when the light came on,” Gallegos said. “That’s when the ‘want-to’ came in. But we’ve got to have that for a whole game.”

Slocum and senior Billy Good led the Rams with 10 points each, while junior Shawn Carrasco added seven.

“We played as a team tonight,” Good said.

Added Slocum: “We had to battle to win this one.”

Rodriguez all scorers with 14 points for Santa Teresa.

The Rams conclude their part of the event against Socorro at 5:30 p.m. today.

PHS girls rout Hot Springs — The Lady Rams  (7-5) set the pace early and controlled their first game of the Portales Shootout Friday night, routing Hot Springs 50-23.

Portales senior Tara Johnson and junior Jenna Wagner led the Lady Rams with 14 points each, followed by freshman Macy Mitchell’s 12 points. Gabby Garcia added 8 points.

The Lady Rams saw a 10-point lead at the quarter cut to 20-13 at halftime by Hot Springs (3-8), but Portales cruised through the second half.

“We got off to a great start and it felt like we were executing our offense,” Lady Rams coach Clay Stout said. “The execution and great decision making were there from the beginning of the game.

The Lady Rams host Clayton at 7 p.m. today in the final game of the Shootout.