Jaguars’ up-tempo offense dominates in emphatic win
Despite some offensive struggles, Capital makes most of up-tempo style in win over Valencia
The Capital Jaguars did a lot of things right on the defensive end. It was almost negated by the things they did wrong on the offensive side Tuesday night.
It was the boys basketball home opener for Capital, which just added to the excitement and the energy level for the Jaguars. The energy level was put to good use on the defensive end, as the Jaguars forced 31 turnovers. The problem was Capital struggled to transfer it into what should have been easy transition buckets.
Still, the defensive effort was more than enough to flummox Valencia — also nicknamed the Jaguars — in a 72-48 win in Edward A. Ortiz Memorial Gymnasium.
Capital made it clear through its first two games what tempo it wants to play this year — up-tempo, while using all 94 feet of the court. The 166 points it posted in wins over Lovington (94-61) and Valencia were the most in consecutive games since the 2012-13 squad scored 145 in its first two games.
Get used to that style, because Capital Jaguars head coach Ben Gomez feels he has that kind of scoring balance, along with unselfishness and speed on the defensive end, to push the speed of games this season.
“The beauty of this team is they all can shoot the ball well,” Gomez said. “They share the ball well. We do finish the ball well, although at times, we’re missing wide-open layups and free throws and such.”
That was apparent early on against Valencia. Even though Capital (2-0)
forced four turnovers in the first 2½ minutes of play, it took a bucket by Matt Smith and a T.J. Sanchez steal-and-layup in the backcourt to tie it at 4-all. The hometown team missed its first five shots and was just 2-for-9 to start the game.
Three of those misses were layups, as Capital missed 15 in the game. The misses were of the same variety — steal, drive, clang.
“We focused on defense, but we just didn’t execute as far as finishing what we started,” senior forward Aaron Garcia said. “It’s crucial because late in the games, those can be deciders. We need to focus and make those shots.”
When Capital finally got its shooting touch going, a 14-4 run emerged that gave it a 14-4 lead in the first quarter. However, that feel for the basket disappeared at times, giving Valencia(0-2) an opportunity to hang around. Capital upped the lead to 27-11 when Smith banked in a 3-pointer from the top of the key, but Valencia answered with a 9-4 spurt to get within 31-20 at the half on Jacob Mattox scoop layup in the lane.
“I think it was just the excitement of the game, it being our first home game, the fans, everyone trying to impress, I guess,” Capital senior guard Tyler Alarid said. “It just got to us.”
The margin ballooned again to 39-24 on a Smith steal and layup with 5:39 left in the third, but Valencia scored six straight points to get within 39-30 as Capital missed four straight shots and turned the ball over once during that stretch. That’s when Gomez called a timeout to try and settle down his overanxious team.
“He just told us to settle down, because we were getting sped up, too,” Alarid said. “We were just looking for the first opportunity to jack the ball up. He just said to slow it down; all of our options are there.”
The fog of excitement finally lifted late in the third quarter and carried into the final 8 minutes, as Capital went on a 20-7 run that extended a 47-33 lead to 67-40. Strong shooting (6-for10 during that stretch) and the usual clutch defense (six turnovers) finally put the outcome away. Gomez wasn’t too concerned with the missed layups, pointing out it was just the second game of the season.
“That’s just a team that’s trying to find itself,” Gomez said. “They’re playing hard. Sometimes, we don’t play as smart as we need to, but it’s just the second game of the season. Those are the kinds of things we are going to work through, and they will. It’s a good bunch, a young bunch. It’s just some growing pains everyone is going to go through.”
What Capital can count on, though, is the steady play of Alarid (17 points) and Smith (a team-high 20). It’s no surprise two of the most experienced holdovers from last year’s Class 5A runner-up are the steady hands guiding the team as it matures. Smith shows an explosive knack for scoring, as he scored 11 points in the second quarter. He finished the third quarter scoring five points in the final 2:34, including a three-point play off a drive to the basket with 24.5 seconds left that started Capital’s key run.
“He got that on the defensive end, helping his teammates as they were pressuring the ball and reading the pass so he could get a couple of steals,” Gomez said. “Any time you can turn steals into layups, it just creates that mojo that gets you going and gets the team flowing.”