Capital, Santa Fe High, Pecos win handily in non district boys basketball games Tuesday night, the Jaguars pounding St. Michael’s 82-40, the Demons trouncing Los Lunas, 58-40, and the Panthers rolling past Estancia, 83-48

For most of the first quarter, the visiting St. Michael’s boys basketball team were holding their own against a red-hot Capital team in non district play Tuesday night.

But after a 10-10 tie, the Jaguars went to work, scoring eight of the last 10 points of the quarter, going on a 12-2 surge in the second quarter, and building a 41-18 lead on the way to what became a 82-40 rout between the cross-town rivals.

Capital had just come off a tight 53-50 win over district foe Santa Fe High to claim the championship of the annual Al Armendariz tournament it hosted. It came down to the Demons, who led only twice and forcing a trio of first quarter ties, made a late surge, but the Jags held off the challenge.

In what was head coach Benny Gomez’ team seventh win in eight starts, it became no contest when senior Antonio “TJ” Sanchez turned in 23 first-half points to command a resounding 52-26 advantage at intermission. He cooled off slightly, but still finished with the game-high 35 points.

Then there was junior Dominic Luna tossing in three 3s to add 14 points, while senior Thomas Wood led St. Michael’s with eight of his 10 points when the contest was close in the early minutes, and Rico Gurule contributed eight.

The next stop for the Jaguars is the annual Eddie Pena Classic that starts Thursday, and they open against Belen. The Horsemen now go against their neighboring rival Santa Fe High in a game played at Toby Roybal Memorial gymnasium on Friday.

The Demons, who won the Bobby Rodriguez/Capital City tournament by defeating Capital in the overtime title game, had no problem disposing of visiting Los Lunas, 58-40, Tuesday nightin a non district contest that advanced their record to 7-1.

With 6-7 junior Fedonta “JB” White picking up two first-half fouls and sitting out most of it, he then committed his third personal as the second half began, but it didn’t matter when his team displayed its balance.

Picking up the slack were junior guard Cody Garcia and senior forward Carlos Dassaro, with the two combining for 15 points in a blazing 21-0 run. Garcia also tossed in two of his team’s 3 pointers, and after his free throw in the last quarter, the lead had zoomed to 40-21 with four minutes remaining.

White still had the team-high dozen points and Garcia and Dassaro added 11 each. As for Los Lunas, a usual state tournament threat, fell to 3-3 with dismal shooting that was 5-for-20 in the first half, and winding up at 8-for-40 before closing out with seven of its final 11 shots during a 19-6 run that was much too little and much too late.

The Pecos boys, 3-time defending state 3A/2A champions, rolled to a 5-1 mark by annihilating visiting Estancia, 83-40, in non district play. The Panthers didn’t waste time in grabbing a 32-9 first-quarter behind seven 3-pointers, three coming from senior Anthony Armijo, who finished with 22 points.

After that, Pecos showed its balance as four played scored in double figures, with sophomore Isaiah Sandoval tossing in 14 of his 16 points over the first two quarters, while teammate Xavier Padilla led all with 27 points, most of which came on perimeter baskets.

Saturday, head coach Ira Hodge junior’s team plays host to non district opponent Cuba.

With the annual Ben Lujan tournament bouncing in Thursday at Pojoaque Valley, several of the entered schools had tuneups on Tuesday.

Monte del Sol, which is in the boy’s field and opens against Penasco, lost 61-26 to visiting Raton and falling to 2-4, and Crownpoint, also in the boy’s field, was defeated, 52-39, by visiting Tsi Yi Gal. Crownpoint (2-7) opens versus host Pojoaque, and then there was Santa Fe Indian School (4-4) turning back Dulce, 79-62, with the Braves now playing McCurdy in the Ben Lujan opener.

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From the girl’s field, Crownpoint also went against Tsi Yi Gal in the doubleheader and this time dominated, 61-29, to even its record at 4-4. Host Pojoaque advanced to 6-2 by upending Belen, 34-18, on the road. The Crownpoint and Elkette girls are first-round opponents at the Ben Lujan.

In other girl’s games, Pecos’ defending state 2A champions, routed Estancia, 70-17.

In other boy’s games, Santa Fe Indian School evened its record at 4-4 by disposing of Dulce, 79-62. The Braves now take on McCurdy in the Ben Lujan opener. St. Michael’s girls (3-4), also in the tournament, meet up with the Bobcat girls in the first round.