The Montezuma-Cortez High School boys basketball team came ready for a marathon.

Unfortunately for the Panthers, Durango High School had a track meet in mind.

The Demons forced 32 turnovers and used a bevy of fast-break points to sprint past Montezuma-Cortez 56-29 on Friday at DHS in front of a frenzied crowd that fell just shy of filling the 1,400-seat gym.

Durango raced out of the gate, storming to a 5-0 lead while Cortez turned the ball over on four of its first five possessions. Nick Hamlin scored nine of his game-high 11 points in the opening quarter, and the Demons led 15-6 after one.

“Cortez, big game, you’ve got to step up and make big plays,” said Hamlin, son of Thomas and Victoria Hamlin. “Shots were going down for me (Friday); I was feeling it, and it was just the intensity from everybody that got me going.”

Alex Lopez of Cortez scored the first bucket of the second quarter, but frustrated by Durango’s bouncing between an active 1-3-1 zone and man defense, things went downhill from there for the Panthers (10-8, 1-4 Southwestern League). Cortez would score just four points in the second quarter and nearly went 10 minutes without a field goal, a drought that lasted until midway through the third quarter.

“We knew that we could pressure their guards, and their guards on film have been a little rattled, so we tried to throw different defenses at them to make them think (about) what we were in,” DHS head coach Alan Batiste said. “And it kind of seemed like they didn’t figure it out, and that’s how we forced those turnovers.”

Meanwhile, DHS continued to hit in transition, scoring 16 points in the frame. Easton Garcia scored seven of his nine points in the second quarter, including a buzzer-beating jumper just before halftime that ignited an already energized crowd.

The ability to get turnovers – particularly 19 in the first half – to bring and keep the crowd in the game was key to the Demons’ plans, according to guard Connor Dugan, who scored six points off the bench.

“When we’re playing against our rival team, the crowd gets into it, you get into it, and that just increases the intensity,” said Dugan, son of Gabrielle and Tom Dugan.

Sensing a bit of a dropoff in energy early in the third, Batiste pulled all five starters and looked for a pick-me-up from the bench. The Durango reserves delivered in spades.

Dugan hit a pair of 3s, Kaleb Cobb canned another triple, and Isaiah Mayberry, who made himself a factor in his smattering of minutes, pulled down several rebounds and connected on a layup off a Panthers’ turnover.

“I felt like I achieved that goal pretty much, just come out, bring intensity to the game and help my team win,” said Mayberry, son of George and Tonya Mayberry.

The sizeable turnover advantage and an unofficial 26-17 edge on the glass allowed Durango many more chances than its counterpart. DHS hit 23 of 48 from the field, including 4 of 11 from 3, while Cortez was just 9-for-26 from the floor.

Cortez was led by Lopez and Jay Rainer, who scored seven apiece. The Demons (10-8, 2-3 SWL) rode a balanced attack, led by Hamlin’s 11. Garcia and Cobb had nine apiece, and Joe Keresey chipped in seven. All but two DHS players found the bucket, a trend Durango will look to continue next weekend at home against Grand Junction Central and Montrose.

“I think that the most important thing was that we ran our offensive sets, and we made sure to get the right looks, and we were patient with the ball at times, but we also pushed the ball,” Dugan said. “Since everyone was hustling, we got open looks for each person.”

rowens@durangoherald.com