Jaguars, Ravens shake up 5-5A with wins

Take a bow, Capital Jaguars. Ravens Nation is thanking you right now.

Capital is thriving in its role as the spoiler of District 5-5A — and it could be saving its postseason hopes in the process.

Capital pulled off its second straight upset Tuesday night when it knocked off co-district leader Santa Fe High 72-64 in Edward A. Ortiz Memorial Gymnasium. That was the first of two shockers in 5-5A play, with the second coming when Albuquerque Rio Grande dominated Los Lunas in a 64-46 win.

When the dust settled, the new district leader is the Ravens (15-9 overall) at 7-2 heading into Friday’s game at Santa Fe High (15-10, 6-3).

And the Jaguars (14-10, 3-6), once in last place in the district at 1-6, have new life. With a win at Albuquerque Manzano on Friday night, Capital would secure no worse than a tie for fourth and have an argument for a spot in the 16-team Class 5A State Tournament.

That seemed unfathomable just four days ago.

“I think it’s possible,” said Jaguars junior guard Santiago Bencomo. “If we can win on Friday and do something big in the district tournament [next week], we have a chance at state.”

Bencomo is a big reason for the sudden optimism. He led Capital with 20 points against the Demons, and his 12-point outburst in the first quarter set the tone.

He finished the quarter scoring the Jaguars’ last seven points, including a 3-pointer that hit every part of the rim plus the backboard before going in to give Capital a 15-9 lead with 2:45 left.

Jaguars head coach Ben Gomez said his team struggled through a scoring slump during a five-game losing streak prior entering Friday’s contest against then-district leader Los Lunas. While the offense sputtered at times, Capital did enough to pull off a 47-45 win when Izaya Sanchez-Valencia hit a leaning 18-footer at the buzzer.

One thing Gomez said his team didn’t do was give up when it appeared the season was falling apart.

“They were coming to practice and

had a good attitude and just worked hard,” Gomez said. “We kept working at it and we picked a fine time to get back into a rhythm. It might be too little, too late, but we are finishing strong.”

The Jaguars used a pivotal 11-0 run late in the second quarter that erased a 25-24 Demons lead. Sanchez-Valencia and Bencomo led the way with nine points during the run, and all of them were the three-point variety. Sanchez-Valencia had a three-point play and drained a triple from the right wing for a 24-24 lead with 1:32 to go.

Demons head coach Zack Cole said the Jaguars hit some tough shots and always seemed to get a needed loose ball or a timely stop to halt a Santa Fe High rally.

“And it seemed like it was multiple [contributing],” Cole said. “They’d hit a 3, but it seemed like it was off a loose ball or on second-chance points. Those are back-breakers because we’d get the stop and they’d still get the ball. They played loose and free.”

That was never more evident than in the last minute of the third quarter. With Capital nursing a 49-42 lead, the Demons forced Javier Martinez to lose the ball in the paint, but it rolled to Eli Dominguez at the top of the key.

He passed to senior wing Elijah Rodriguez in the corner for a 3-pointer that made it 52-42 with 35 seconds left.

The Jaguars upped the lead to 54-42 early in the fourth quarter before the Demons scored six straight points to get within 54-48 on Lukas Turner’s breakaway layup with 6:47 left. Sanchez-Valencia answered, though, with a prayer in the paint with Santa Fe High wing Sam Lopez all over him in the lane that bumped the lead to 56-48.

Turner, who scored 18 of his 23 points in the fourth, tried to keep the Demons in the game with a three-point play off a drive that cut the margin to 57-53 with 4:56 left. Bencomo and Sanchez-Valencia responded with consecutive layups that pushed the lead back up to 61-53 and settled the outcome.

“They were executing and able to get some points in the paint,” Gomez said. “And it wasn’t just from the post players. We were getting points in the paint that allowed us to into a little bit more of our comfort zone.”

While the Jaguars might be in the zone, the district’s top three teams hardly feel comfortable heading into the final district games Friday. The Ravens simply need to beat Santa Fe High to win the district, but the Demons have to beat the Ravens to force at least a two-way tie for first and force a playoff game for the top seed in the 5-5A district tournament.

If Los Lunas (19-6, 6-3) downs Albuquerque High, there will be a three-way tie and the two teams that will compete in the playoff will come down to the point-differential tiebreaker.

The Tigers will be in the playoff game in a three-way tie scenario, while the Demons must beat the Ravens by seven to ensure the other spot.

“All I’m gonna tell the kids is we gotta win by 10,” Cole said.

NOTES

The Jaguars-Demons game was held despite Santa Fe Public Schools closing schools and all school-related activities Tuesday. SFPS athletic director Marc Ducharme said because road conditions were better on the south side of town, it was decided to play the game.

He added he didn’t want both schools to potentially play on consecutive days, especially since weather forecasts for Wednesday called for more snow.