Capital boys win basketball season opener

Capital boys open basketball season by handing visiting Lovington a resounding 94-62 setback Saturday afternoon behind five Jaguars scoring in double figures. Senior Tyler Alarid paves the way with 24 points, with Capital home again Tuesday night against Valencia

By Arnie Leshin | November 27, 2017

 

As usual, not much has changed with Capital boy’s basketball team.

Each year, the Jaguars graduate key players and are expected to be rebuilding, but not so under head coach Benny Gomez.

Saturday afternoon, they opened the new season against visiting Lovington, which was impressive in routing West Las Vegas, 83-59, in its opener. But the Wildcats could not tame the Jags in a 94-62 setback in which Capital relied on a balanced attack led by a game-high 24 points from 5-foot-9 senior guard Tyler Alarid.

The Jaguars, who are home to Valencia Tuesday night, broke away to a 25-14 lead after one quarter and increased it to 44-29 at halftime. The third quarter was a standoff when both teams scored 17 points, but in the final eight minutes, it was all Capital outscoring the visitors, 33-16.

Two underclassmen paved the way in the fourth quarter for the Jags. Antonio T.J. Sanchez, a 5-9 sophomore, tossed in 10 points, 5-10 freshman Dominic Luna added eight, and 6-1 senior Aaron Garcia put in 13.

But Alarid and 6-3 junior power forward Matt Smith, two key returning players, led the scoring column, with Smith adding 16 points. Then there was 6-1 sophomore shooting guard Seth Arroyos, another important returnee, coming up with a dozen points to put five Capital players in double figures.

Following the contest versus the also Jaguars of Valencia, the Capital Jags play host to the annual Al Armendariz Shoot Out tournament.