Demons pull off upset at Capital
Santa Fe High keeps its cool down stretch to hold off Jags
This is the type of emotionally charged, gutsy win that can catapult a team to new heights — and just in time for the most crucial part of the season.
Overcoming 24 points by Matt Smith, Santa Fe High fought off Capital 57-52 on Thursday night in front of a boisterous, standing room-only crowd in Edward A. Ortiz Memorial Gymnasium. The win boosts the Demons to 8-8 overall and earned them a mountain of momentum heading into District 2-6A play, which starts next week.
The Demons pulled off the upset by never flinching when the Jaguars (14-3) took a brief one-point lead with more than four minutes left and draining all 10 of their free throws in the fourth quarter, including 8-for-8 in the final three minutes to keep Capital at bay.
“We knew coming in we were going to have to overcome a great team and a great environment,” Demons coach Zack Cole said. “We’ve played a heckuva schedule to this point, and we played one of the best teams in the state [Thursday] at their place in a crazy environment. I’m proud of our kids for pulling out a gutsy win.”
Smith accounted for almost half of Capital’s points, while Victor Salcido led Santa Fe High’s balanced scoring attack with 15 points, with Diego Salinas contributing 12, Antonio Lovato 11 and Christian Kavanaugh 11.
Smith’s fourth triple of the night with 5:18 left pulled Capital to within 45-44, the closest the Jaguars had been since early in the third quarter. They took just their third lead of the game moments later on two Aaron Garcia free throws.
Undeterred, the Demons responded by scoring the next six points. Capital was
forced to call a timeout with 2:14 left when Lovato stole the ball in the lane and fearlessly drove the length of the court for a layup to give Santa Fe a 51-46 lead.
After an exchange of free throws, Smith’s 3-point attempt spun out in his quest to cut Capital’s deficit to two points. Smith hit a layup to make it 53-50 before the Jaguars forced a turnover in the backcourt, giving them an opportunity to possibly even the score.
Smith drove the lane and made a layup while being fouled with 18.9 seconds left. With a chance to tie the score, he missed the free throw, and the tipped ball rolled tantalizingly around the rim before falling off.
Two free throws by Lovato with 14.9 seconds left gave Santa Fe High a 55-52 lead.
That’s when weird things started happening.
Milliseconds after Smith’s 3-pointer clanged off the rim with less than 10 seconds left, the scoreboard went blank. The ball rolled out of bounds beyond midcourt. The officials awarded possession to Capital at three-quarters court with just under nine seconds remaining.
“The officials said we didn’t have control of the ball, so they went to the possession arrow and gave the ball back to Capital,” Cole said. “We have been trying to overcome adversity all season, so I’m glad we won it the way we won it with how everything went down.”
The Demons’ defense smothered Smith at the top of the 3-point circle and jarred the ball loose. Kavanaugh capped the win with two free throws with less than a second left.
“This can definitely slingshot us forward moving into district,” Cole said. “All of our players put in quality minutes. It was a great team effort. We needed every last player on our bench to win that game.”