ALBUQUERQUE — All the pain, all the fighting, all the sacrifice; just for these scars.

It almost seems cruel that the 2009-10 boys basketball season came to an end for the Capital High Jaguars in such a fashion. A team that battled through losing streaks and infighting, suspensions and ineligibilities was pounded into mincemeat.

The pain that the fourth-seeded Volcano Vista Hawks laid upon Capital during their 51-41 win in Wednesday's Class AAAA state quarterfinals in The Pit was more visible than the emotional hurt Capital endured for four months.

The proof was in the gauze in the right nostril of Capital's senior wing and leading scorer Reece Goodman, and the sling that wrapped around the left arm of Jaguars junior forward — and now team captain — Jonathon Rodriguez.

Volcano Vista gave Rodriguez his court wound just moments after the opening tip, as his shoulder was stretched during a scrum on the floor for the ball.

The Hawks rudely said goodbye to Goodman with
2 minutes, 1 second left, when he jumped for teammate Isaiah Bustamante's airball 3-pointer and crashed his face into the shoulder of Volcano Vista junior guard Mario Molina.

The nose splattered blood on the west end of the court and also around the 3-point line.

It was all Goodman had left to give his team — he fouled out on the play. But the Hawks left Capital with an even bigger impression.

"We got to work on that for next season," Capital head coach Mark Senteney said of Volcano Vista's strength. "But I'm proud of the guys. They never gave up and I am proud of my seniors."

What he wasn't proud about, though, were the 30 free throws the Hawks shot (making 20) compared to the 1-for-2 line by Goodman in the same department. Those represented the only free throws the Jaguars had.

The disparity also explained the foul trouble Capital was in almost from the start, as Volcano Vista committed itself to attacking the basket.

Rodriguez, playing in pain, had two fouls by the start of the second quarter. Bustamante had two by the end of the first.

Goodman, the team's leading scorer, had two just before the half ended, then picked up No. 3 in the opening minute of the third quarter.

The fouls helped Volcano Vista get in the one-and-one bonus to start the second
quarter, but it made only 6 of 12 from the line.

Still it was 21-15, Volcano Vista, at the half because of the Hawks' aggressiveness.

It also led to all three Capital sitting on the bench late at one point in the third quarter, but the key was Goodman.

"Any time you get the opposing team's best player in foul trouble, it means good things for your team," Hawks head coach Greg Brown said. "We knew we had to figure out ways to stop Reece. I think he got a little hesitant because he was in foul trouble, but, man, he is a good player."

So is Molina. He had 11 points at the half on the strength of 3-for-4 shooting from the line and a pair of 3s. His last one — at 3:06 of the second — extended Volcano Vista's lead to 19-13.

Only the play of freshman Mikey Lopez kept Capital in it. He had seven of his 10 points in the first half, including a jumper off the glass for 19-15 with 2:52 before the break.

The Hawks then went on a 10-2 run that lasted until McCoy Martinez's triple at 6:01 of the third made it 29-17.

From there, Volcano Vista made 14 of 18 at the line as the Jaguars were worn down by the relentless inside attack.

"Get to the paint," Brown said. "Once we get to the paint, we feel like we're going to get to the free-throw line."

Capital could learn a thing or two from that mentality. But the Jaguars came a long way from being the emotionally unstable team that imploded in the face of adversity. They managed to turn a 2-8 swoon into a 6-3 finishing kick that got them to The Pit for the first time since 2008.

Capital also endured the loss of Goodman to a one-game suspension for an ejection during that slump, as well as the ineligibility of Lopez, who had to sit out 90 days after transferring from Santa Fe High in October.

Capital played the final two games without freshman guard Christian Martinez, who was kicked off the team for violating school and team rules.

The Jaguars hope to have him back for next season, in which only Rodriguez and Martinez will be seniors but five other players will have varsity experience.

Rodriguez doesn't want this to be the last Pit experience for himself or his teammates, and he firmly believes that attitude will play a big part of that.

"I think that a lot of the bickering that went on in past seasons, the arguing and everything, doesn't help," Rodriguez said. "Next year, it's going to be tougher because we know what we can't do and what we do need to do — and that is to have positive energy."

But there's eight months of pain to suffer before November appears.

Contact James Barron at 986-3045
or jbarron@sfnewmexican.com.
Read his blog at thereadbarron.com