It wasn't graffiti. It was good juju.

Long before Wednesday night's game, the Capital boys basketball team was already thinking about its District 2AAAA contest with the Los Alamos Hilltoppers.

It was early Wednesday morning, and assistant coach Terence Mirabal had the Jaguars jot down a buzzword at center court of Edward A. Ortiz Memorial Gymnasium.

"Win."

Plain and simple. That's the word senior guard Bryan Vigil etched.

Christian Martinez scrawled "self-control."

Jaguars' head coach Mark Senteney scribbled down "defense."

Barring their sluggish first-half start, the Jaguars (20-5, 7-0) showed it all in a impressive 53-39 win on Senior Night over the visiting Hilltoppers.

"We got completely focused," Vigil said about the Jaguars' spirited second-half. "We didn't think we were playing that good, so we just focused up and went out there and played our game."

Their game was fast and furious, a get-up-the-court philosophy that came full circle in the third quarter. The Jaguars led 22-20 at the break before pouring it on in the second half.

That's when Vigil started to assert himself.

He and center Taylor Martinez combined for 12 of their 20 points -- and 12 of the Jaguars' 17 points in that third quarter. They stretched their lead out to 13 off Martinez's bucket with 42 seconds left.

From there, even for the Hilltoppers (10-16, 3-5), the climb was just too steep.

For a team that's used to soul-crushing losses -- it's had 11 games decided by three points or fewer, including the Jaguars' and Hilltoppers' last affair -- this one was quick and painless, in part because of the Hilltoppers' tepid finish.

"We were just playing lackadaisical the whole game," said Fil Dominguez, Hilltoppers head coach. "It wasn't just the third quarter. We were a little bit flat in the first half. We weren't very aggressive offensively. Our defense was pretty horrible tonight."

Indeed, the Hilltoppers played milquetoast basketball. And when the onus was on them to score in the fourth quarter, Los Alamos whiffed.

Daniel Salazar's 3-point airball with 4:42 left in the game about summed up the night, as Los Alamos converted only three buckets in the fourth.

Still, it wasn't until late in the third quarter that Senteney could breathe a sigh of relief.

He thought the atmosphere would have a greater impact on his boys, and for awhile, it did. But not long enough to matter.

"We got caught up with Senior Night, and they got a little bit emotional," he said. "I think we finally settled down. We always think there's a shot clock and there's not. Once everybody got into the flow, we were fine.

"I always worry about this team. Sometimes we lay an egg. We just needed to get a little breathing room, and we would be OK."

On the other side, the breathing was heavy.

For lack of depth, Dominguez has used six players most of the year.

At the end, it was plainly obvious his starters were spent, as they didn't commit on the defensive end. He finally waved the white flag with 1:11 left, subbing in his less-utilized players.

"Defense has been our staple the last two years," Dominguez said. "When we communicate defensively, it seems like it gives our offense a boost."

If talking about boosts, this one elevated the Jaguars to within one win of a perfect district season. The last time that happened?

In 2004, when Capital won the state championship.

And that's where Mikey Lopez is hoping this season leads back to.

If there's one thing that will halt the Jaguars' momentum, though, Lopez said, it's the in-fighting.

"We just need to calm that down," he said. "We get down on each other, so we just have to pick each other back. We're just a bunch of brothers. Sometimes families get in fights. Sometimes families don't get a long. It's just how we come out in the end."

And at the end of Wednesday night, they came out smelling like roses.

Contact Isaac Avilucea at 986-3032 or iavilucea@sfnewmexican.com.