Capital holds on for win at top-ranked St. Michael's

Dec. 14—This time a year ago, Adam Montoya and Sabi Rios made a habit of walking off the court shaking their heads and feeling frustrated.

They did the same thing Tuesday night, albeit for a much different reason.

Capital had just beaten St. Michael's 52-47, handing the Horsemen their second straight loss after

St. Michael's started the season with four consecutive wins to put them atop of the latest Class 3A rankings.

It's a far cry from the 0-10 start the Horsemen had a year ago, the worst in school history.

"Things are just a lot different now," Montoya said. "We're playing together as a team more than we used to. Guys are playing for us instead of each other."

The Horsemen met their match in Capital, an athletic and deep team that has won five straight games, including a sweep en route to the Al Armendariz Classic on its home floor last weekend. The Jaguars (6-2) have just one player listed above 6 feet on the roster, forcing them rely on a suffocating defense that clogs passing lanes, closes out on the perimeter and forces taller teams to rely on something other than being big in the paint.

They forced several missed St. Michael's layups, some of which proved costly in the fourth quarter after the Horsemen (4-2) had wiped out a double-digit deficit to tie the game with three minutes left.

Izaya Sanchez-Valencia was the player of the game for Capital with a team-high 13 points, but it was free throws by Eli Dominguez and Isaiah Ortega in the final three minutes that put the Jaguars in front for good. They combined for four of them over a three-possession, 62-second span to push Capital's lead to 46-42, a lead they clung to the rest of the way.

Ortega, Santiago Bencomo and Isaac Ortega all had eight points for the Jaguars. As a team they converted 10 of 13 foul shots in the final six-plus minutes. The free throws, forced turnovers and missed layups by the Horsemen were enough to hand Capital the win.

"For me, it's the missed layup I had earlier in the quarter that will keep me up," Montoya said, referring to a shot in traffic that rolled off the rim as the Horsemen were mounting their comeback.

Down 25-17 at halftime after the Jaguars closed the half with an 8-0 run, the Horsemen trailed by 11 to start the third quarter. Montoya and Rios engineered the rally, combining for 16 of the Horsemen's 22 points in the fourth period.

Capital's lead was quickly cut to 36-31 less than two minutes into the third, dissolving entirely by the 3:12 mark when Rios scored five unanswered points in just 10 seconds with bucket on a runner in the lane followed by a transition layup.

Lucas Gurule then tied it at 42 moments later on a transition layup on an outlet pass from Rios.

Labled as the team's best defender by Horsemen coach Gerard Garcia, Rios eventually fouled out in the final 30 seconds. The Horsemen made only one field goal in the final 1:19 of the game.

"I think defense is definitely my thing," Rios said, "but we were down in those last seven minutes and I knew something had to happen. I knew it had to be a mental change. Had to put more energy into it."

Montoya led the Horsemen with 16 points, while Rios had 11 before picking up his fifth. The team's bigs, freshman center Donevan Ricker and Taven Lozada, had just six points between them.

"The thing that's been our issue all year is starting slow in pretty much every game," Garcia said. "You can't do that against a lot of the teams we play. Doesn't matter if we're playing the biggest, top-ranked team in 5A or a team like Capital, we have to get out and start faster."

Garcia said he might tinker with the team's starting lineup, a luxury he has with a roster that goes 11 players deep.

As he headed home, Montoya admitted the head shaking and frustration is a lot different now than this time last year.

With the losses mounting and the team struggling, those feelings were an everyday thing back then.

"Now it's just thinking about what we could have done better to win this one game," he said. "We're playing better this year. That's the big difference."

NOTES

Props due: Capital received just three points in this week's NMOT Sports Coaches Poll for Class 5A, arguably making the Jaguars one of the most overlooked teams in the big-school ranks. Their current win streak includes an impressive double-digit win at No. 6 West Mesa and an average margin of victory of nearly 31 points in their own tournament.

Up next: Capital returns home Thursday night to face Española Valley, then closes the calendar year with a visit to Rio Rancho on Dec. 21 and a home game against Bernalillo on Dec. 23.

The Horsemen head down Siringo Road on Friday night to face Santa Fe High at Toby Roybal Memorial Gymnasium. After that is a Dec. 20 road game at Albuquerque High.