DEXTER — The Portales Rams beat Dexter 61-53 Friday night to remain undefeated in District 4-3A play.

The Rams (17-8, 7-0 district) had Dexter on the ropes early, taking a 23-12 first quarter lead, but Dexter (8-18, 2-6) kept it close the rest of the way.

“We just didn’t play real consistent,” Ram head coach Mark Gallegos said. “We set a goal as a defense to keep them under 35. They got going in the second half and we didn’t do a very good job.”

Senior Billy Good and junior Shawn Carrasco led all scorers with 17 points each. Junior Marcus Slocum added 11 points. Senior Joseph Bowles led the Demons with 16 points.

As the district top seed, the Rams will host the District 4-3A championship next Saturday night.

The Rams, who have won eight of their last nine games,  host the Ruidoso Warriors (11-14, 4-3) at 6 p.m. tonight. The Warriors are battling Lovington for the district’s second seed.

“We’re going to have to control Ruidoso’s inside game,” Gallegos said. “Hopefully we can do that and get some turnovers.”

Portales    23    12    14    12 — 61
Dexter    12    13    15    13 — 53
Leading scorers: Portales, Billy Good 17, Shawn Carrasco 17, Marcus Slocum 11. Dexter, Joseph Bowles 16, Zachary Fuller 15.
3-pointers — Portales, Carrasco 3. Dexter, Carlos Cruz 3.
Records— Portales 17-8, 7-0 District 4-3A. Dexter— 8-18, 2-6.