With the start of District 4-3A action less than two weeks away, Portales boys basketball coach Mark Gallegos expects to get a good measure of his Rams tonight and through the weekend.

The Rams (3-4) host undefeated and 4A’s top-ranked Artesia Bulldogs (11-0) tonight at the Portales High School gymnasium, before hosting the annual Portales Shootout tournament this weekend.

“This is a measuring stick game for us to see where we’re at,” Gallegos said. “We’ll measure ourselves against the team I consider the best team in 4A.”

Coached by Portales native Ike Montoya, Artesia is coming off back-to-back wins over traditional Lea County basketball powers Lovington and Hobbs earlier this month. The Bulldogs beat Hobbs 77-74 Tuesday, and no other team has been within single digits.

“They’re real balanced,” Gallegos said. “They’ve got really good guard play and their real physical inside and that’s where they’re hurting people.”

Gallegos pegged Portales’ top priorities in Thursday night’s game against the Bulldogs.

“To beat Artesia you have to keep them off the offensive glass,” Gallegos said. “And you can’t give them easy baskets in transition.”

The Portales boys have only had one full practice with everybody involved in the past week because of illnesses and injuries, but Gallegos also believes senior leaders Walker Partin, Billy Good and Nick Bliss will have a big role to fill in the weekend’s games.

“It’s real frustrating because we’re still not where we need to be,” Gallegos said. “The good part is that this weekend — we’ll get all we can out of it building up to district.”

The Rams and Lady Rams host the annual Portales Shootout round-robin tournament starting Friday, before traveling to Tucumcari on Monday.

The Rams begin district play Jan. 20 hosting Roswell’s New Mexico Military Institute.