One coach thought twice, then declined to give a comment on officiating after Friday night's District 2AAAAA boys basketball showdown between Albuquerque High and Santa Fe High in Toby Roybal Gymnasium.

The other coach couldn't stop beaming about how good the officiating in Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico is, using the word integrity in his postgame praise on more than one occasion.

Guess which coach got the game-deciding call?

With 11.8 seconds left in overtime and Albuquerque High leading 50-48, Santa Fe High sophomore Nick Martinez drove toward his hoop, colliding with Bulldogs junior Zach Salas. As the layup fell through the hoop, a whistle sounded.

After what seemed like several agonizing moments, a charge was called.

Instead of a tie game with Martinez on the line shooting a potential go-ahead free throw in overtime, the basket was waived off and Albuquerque High hit four free throws down the stretch for a 54-48 overtime win.

"I was laying on my back looking up at the ref and it seemed like forever," said Salas, who had a team-high 12 points, eight coming in the fourth quarter and overtime. "Where I was, I couldn't tell if he was leaning one way, or going back and forth, then he finally made the signal for the charge."

It wasn't a call that made the vocal Demons fan base very happy.

"It was the right call," said Albuquerque High head coach Ron Garcia. "It took a lot of integrity for an official to make that call, in that moment, in somebody else's home gym. But it was the right call and that's what we get whenever we play up here. The officiating up here is as good as it gets. You always know you're going to get a fair game when you play in Santa Fe."

Of course Garcia spent the first three quarters in the ear of game officials for what he says at one point was a 17-5 foul discrepancy in favor of Santa Fe High.

For the Demons (11-13 overall, 1-3 2AAAAA), the loss likely seals their fate as either a No. 4 or No. 5 seed in the postseason district tournament.

But don't tell head coach Lenny Roybal the season is over.

"We know in our hearts," Roybal said, "that as soon as the playoffs start, somebody is going to be in trouble."

Albuquerque High (11-11, 2-3 2AAAAA) has now beat Santa Fe High three times this season, including twice in Toby Roybal Gymnasium. On Dec. 12, Bulldogs senior Jacob Baldonado hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in the championship of the Capital City Invitational for a 54-53 win.

Friday, about 10 feet from the spot of his game winner, Baldonado drained a 3-pointer with 1:04 left in regulation to knot the game at 44-44 and force overtime.

"I'm starting to like this place," said Baldonado, who scored 11 points in the game.

The 3-pointers weren't nearly as kind to the Demons.

Santa Fe High went 0-for-6 from behind the arc in the first half and trailed 24-16 at the break after leading 4-2 at the end of the first quarter.

"We shouldn't have been shooting any 3-pointers against that defense," Roybal said. "That's not what was on the board. That's not what we practiced for these guys."

While the Demons guards were struggling from the outside, senior post Kurtis Thomas scored 10 of his 12 points, all in the paint, in the first half.

Fortunately for Santa Fe High, the rims weren't as unfriendly in the third quarter when the attempted eight 3s.

Senior Isaac Jeantette sank three third-quarter treys — he finished with a game-high 13 points — and the Demons outscored the Bulldogs 15-4 in the quarter for a 31-28 lead heading into the fourth.

A pair of Jeantette free throws with 3:00 left in the fourth gave the Demons what appeared to be a comfortable 44-37 lead.

The Bulldogs hit four of six free throws down the stretch, setting up Baldonado's game-tying shot.

The Demons, meanwhile, spread the floor on offense to try and kill the clock. Instead, their shooting touch went cold again and allowed the Bulldogs back in the game.

"Albuquerque High is mentally tough and we're not right now," Roybal said. "That was what tonight was about."

The loss could be good news or bad news for the Bulldogs.

"With this win, it pretty much means that if we play them in the district tournament, they'll have to come to our place," Garcia said.

That means no repeat heroics for Baldonado and no Northern New Mexico game officials for Garcia to praise.

Contact Geoff Grammer at 986-3060 or ggrammer@sfnewmexican.com. Read his blog at grammerschoolblog.com.