Arnie Lesion’s thoughts on Capital High basketball

By ARNIE LESHIN, Santa Fe Today

Run Jaguars run. That’s the Capital High Jaguars and their new look.

And with that they are undefeated in four starts and conclude the annual Al Armendariz round robin tournament that it hosts Saturday night, 6:30, against Pecos.

This latest impressive win came over Roswell Goddard, 81-42 Friday night.

Meanwhile, the Panthers’(1-1) defending state 3A championships saw their 29-game win streak stopped in a tight 66-65 loss to Santa Fe High, which plays in 6A.

The Demons (2-2) play Grants at 3:30, after the Pirates (2-2) overwhelmed winless Jemez Valley, 107-15, with that game scheduled for 3:30. At 12:30, it will be Goddard versus Jemez Valley in the six-school field.

And Capital and Pecos go at in a match-up of fast-paced teams that travel quickly up and down the court and apply full-court pressure. For the Panthers, it will be the second time in the tournament against a 5A school, after they turned back 5A Grants in their opener.

As for the run-and-gun Jags who are wearing down teams, Antonio ( T.J.) Sanchez had an inkling something like this would occur.

“I knew from open gym back in June that our team was going to be quick and fast, said the sophomore. “I didn’t know we were going to come out like this, but it’s pretty good that we have.”

And being that Sanchez is a point guard, it makes him the one who puts the offense in gear, and he did just that. On defense, the Rockets faced numerous pressure, most in the first half.

Goddard did lead, but early. The last time was at 9-8, but not long after off went Capital scoring 14 of the next 16 points to go up 22-11 in the opening quarter. In the second quarter, the Jaguars turned to sharpshooting, making good on 11 of 15 shots that included five in a row, and the lead increased to 37-19.

It only got worse for the Rockets. When it was 69-34 with time winding down in the third quarter, the mercy-rule went into effect. It was a true team effort behind junior post Matt Smith, senior guard Tyler Alarid, and Sanchez.

Santa Fe High senior Victor Salcido had the team-high 18 points, same as Pecos junior Mario Archuelta, but his biggest basket came after a steal with 5.1 seconds remaining. Prior to that, Demons’ junior Antonio Lovato’s layup with 25 seconds left brought a one-point lead.

The Panthers were in front 52-45 in the third quarter, but Santa Fe High answered on a 7-1 run. In the fourth quarter, there were six lead changes, The Demons had come off a one-point loss to Goddard. Senior Isaiah Andermann tossed in 16 points for the winners, with junior Josh DeHerrera scoring 16 for Pecos.