Capital High boys impressive from the foul line in turning back Hobbs

Capital High boys impressive from the foul line in turning back Hobbs Saturday as the annual Capital City/Bobby Rodriguez basketball round robin concluded at Toby Roybal Memorial gym

Jaguars 90-82 over Hobbs, St. Michael’s 65-60 over Santa Fe Indian School, Roswell 56-52 over Santa Fe HS

By ARNIE LESHIN, Santa Fe Today

Free throws can make or break a basketball game, in recreation leagues, in high schools, in college, in the pros.

But take a lesson from Capital High boys, for in Saturday’s 90-82, win over Hobbs, they were right on target, and it probably won them the game. It’s not very often that you see 24-for-27 foul shooting, or 17-for-18, but that’s what the Jaguars did in a display of charity tosses that would rank high in any league.

Led by that, senior guard Tyler Alarid, and a 19-4 run in the second quarter, it was enough to put head coach Benny Gomez’ team at 7-1 and win all but one game in the Al Almendariz tournament played at Capital, and the Capital City/Bobby Rodriguez, that concluded its round robin yesterday at the Toby Roybal Memorial gymnasium.

The one loss came in a tight test against defending state 3A champion Pecos at the Jags’ court.

Capital started slow, but picked up the pace in the second quarter with the 19-4 run bringing a 42-27 halftime lead. It maintained the lead the rest of the

way, and that was helped along by the free throws. The Jaguars began the third quarter by making good on 11-for-12 from the charity stripe, and with 1:39 left in the quarter, Alarid already had 27 points, a team high.

No change in the final quarter when Capital went 17-for-18 from the line, which was enough to offset the game-high 40 points scored by Hobbs forward Clay Strasner.

The Jags also had three other players join Alarid in double figures, with Seth Arroyos scoring 16, Aaron Garcia 14, and Antonio (T.J.) Sanchez 12. The Eagles fell to 3-3.

St. Michael’s also evened its mark at 3-3 by coming from behind to turn back Santa Fe Indian School, 65-60, for its first win in the tournament. The Braves (5-4) went in front 21-10, but the Horsemen rallied to be up 40-33 at halftime.

Then, behind 53-49 early in the final quarter, they held Indian School to only seven points to come out ahead. Junior forward Dominic Morgan tossed in eight of his dozen in the second half, junior guard Jevon Montoya scored 16, and for the Braves, Jason Abeyta had the team-high 15 points and Jason Bridges added 13.

But host Santa Fe High took a 56-52 setback from Roswell, the defending state 5A champion that won all three of its round robin games. The Demons (4-4) had a chance in the final minute when, trailing 55-52, they looke4 to Isaiah Andermann to tie the score with a 3.

But his shot rimmed off the side of the rim and grabbed by Warriors’ Logan Eaker, who was fouled. He converted 1-of-2 for the final score. But it was a quality effort the Demons, who were playing without their leading scorer, senior Victor Salcido, who was ejected during Friday’s contest against Indian School.

But junior Antonio Lovato stepped in, scoring 13 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter to help Santa Fe High cut into a 43-34 gap. When Lovato threw up a 3-pointer from the corner with 2:48 left, the Demons trailed 49-48.

But after the 6-7 Eaker missed two foul shots, Santa Fe High had another chance, but a drive down the lane shot by Lovato was blocked by Eaker.

Next, Dominic Nava scored on a layup for the Coyotes (5-2) to put his team up 51-48.

It didn’t help the Demons when they missed six straight shots and committed five turnovers in the last 4:19 of the third quarter. This led to a 10-0 run for Roswell.

In the championship game of the Albuquerque Sandia Prep tournament, unbeaten Espanola Valley became 4-0 with a 86-68 win over Mesilla Valley Saturday night. The Sundevils were led by Martin Garcia’s 18 points, but they also received 48 from their reserves.