The annual Eddie Pena round-robin boy’s basketball tournament played at Grants is the place to be for Capital as it finishes first for the third straight time following Saturday afternoon’s 87-26 romp over the host Pirates

Benny Gomez certainly likes that ride to Grants for the annual Eddie Pena boy’s basketball classic. It’s a round-robin, and for the last three years the ride home has come with yet another first place for the Jaguars.

In fact, Gomez’ team remained undefeated in this tournament, 9-0 after Saturday afternoon‘s third-straight resounding victory, this time 87-26 over host Grants. The other two games were much of the same domination by the Jags, 61-27, over Belen and 68-42 over Kirtland Central.

“Well, Kirtland Central did give us a tough time in the early going,” said Gomez, “but once we settled down, it wasn’t close.”

Capital has now won 10 of 11 starts,  and seven in a row, with the lone setback in overtime against district and cross-town rival Santa Fe High, 48-45, in the championship game of the annual Bobby Rodriguez/Capital City tournament at the host Demons’ court. The next time they played, the Jaguars reversed things in turning back Santa Fe High, 53-50, in the final of the annual Al Armendariz tournament that they hosted.

They should have a tough test in their next start, a non district contest at home against Rio Rancho Cleveland on Jan. 4.The Storm is one of three 5A teams at 7-0, with Onate at 10-0, and Las Cruces and Santa Fe High at 8-1.

But every think worded for Gomez’ team at the Eddie Pena, with Capital playing at the top of its game, as the class of the four-team field. Against the Grant Pirates, it broke away to a 5-0 lead on a 3 from and a 2, with Grants then getting to within 5-4 before the onslaught began. The  visitors outscored it 21-2 to command a 31-8 lead after one quarter.

It was 53-18 at halftime and 76-19 after three quarters, with the Pirates scoring only two points in the third and six more in the final eight minutes.

“We have good balance in our lineup,” said Gomez, “and we apply pressure on defense. We don’t have great height, but we hustle to grab rebounds.”

The tallest Jaguar is 6-foot-4 senior Chano Herrera, and he’s also a clutch shooter, blends in with 5-11 senior Antonio “TJ” Sanchez, 5-7 senior Brandon Saiz, 5-10 junior Dominic Luna, and 6-1 senior Seth Arroyos to put up the points that usually come on a big run and causes the other team to call time outs.

Eight players returned off last season’s varsity roster, which also provides Capital with experience and familiarity with each other. Each contest has had different players paving the way.

Saiz and Sanchez are the leading scorers, but Luna, Herrera and Arroyos have also added to the offense, and then there’s 5-10 senior Elias Rodriguez, 5-10 junior Angel Para, 5-10 junior Jeremiah Aguirre, 5-11 sophomore Abraham Damian, and 5-10 junior Izayah Serrano.

That’s the 10-man roster, five seniors, four juniors, and one sophomore, The 87 points against Grants was its high of the season, and it has been scoring at a 70.3 clip with 723 points, and its defense has allowed 405 points, and that’s an average of 36.9 per game.

Only Herrera and Arroyos are over 6 feet, but there are still four 5-10 players, all juniors, and the 5-11 Sanchez crashes the boards and plays bigger than his size.

Ben Gomez, Jr., who played football and basketball at Capital, is assisting his father as head coach of the junior varsity that has won both of its starts. The freshmen team is coached by Dave Luevano and they are currently at 4-1.

Gomez’ program has probably not had a player over 6-4, but there’s always a bulk of talent, athleticism, players who have grown up together, and Gomez is one of the better coaches in the state, evidenced by his success every campaign.

It was in 2004, the year after head coach Al Arnendariz resigned and his assistant, Gomez, took over, that the Jaguars won their first and only state title. They won 25-of-26 games and capped it with a 64-60 win over Deming in the final when George Dominquez threw up a 3-pointer as the clock ticked down.

The following year, Capital went 28-2 but lost 71-67 to Deming in the championship game. In 2016, with a 27-5 record, it gained the final against district rival Espanola Valley and dropped a tough 36-34 tussle.

In 2002, with talented brothers Terance and Bryan Mirabal in the lineup, forced a good Onate team into overtime in the state semifinals that they lost. Onate then dropped a 70-69 final against Kirtland Central.

Now the program is again in quest of a berth in the state tournament. Last season, injuries piled up and Capital lost in the first round of state at Eldorado. Knock wood, this time of the season has been injury free, but no one can predict what happens as time goes by.

Glancing at District 5-5A, it appears that Capital and Santa Fe High are at the top of the heap in an Albuquerque loaded district that isn’t all that threatening. Presently, Rio Grande is 2-4, Albuquerque High is 1-3, Manzano is 1-4, and Sandia has lost its first six starts.

But the Jaguars and Demons should get a got indication of how good they are when Cleveland gets a visit from Santa Fe High on Jan. 2, and two days later the Storm hits the road for Capital, both non district tests.