Two days doesn’t give a team a lot of preparation time for an unknown foe.
But Durango High School boys basketball coach Alan Batiste knows at least a thing or two about Pueblo South, and he’s hoping that knowledge, coupled with DHS continuing to do what it does well, will get a tournament run off on the right foot.
The Demons will make their first postseason appearance in five years when they host the Colts at 7 p.m. today in the first round of the CHSAA Class 4A state playoffs. For a team that was just 4-16 last season, just making the postseason is a huge step in the right direction.
“I think the guys are enjoying it,” Batiste said. “It’s not another game, but I told the guys (Monday) it’s a new season and anything can happen.”
For “anything” to become a positive for the Demons, they’ll first have to get by Pueblo South (10-13). The Colts are led by Dominick Bregar, who’s averaging about 19 points per game and who dropped 35 points in January against fellow 4A playoff team Cañon City.
“They’re not a very big team,” Batiste said. “They shoot the ball really well from the outside.”
The teams have two common opponents: Fruita Monument and Pueblo East. The Colts lost by 29 against Fruita Monument back on Dec. 10 and lost both games to Pueblo East by a combined 32 points. Durango lost by 35 to Pueblo East and lost both games to FMHS by a combined 30 points.
One area in which the Colts will hold a distinct edge is in playoff experience. This Pueblo East side boasts six seniors, most of whom played in the postseason the last two seasons. None of the Durango players have played in a postseason basketball game before. However, Morgan Miller is no stranger to postseason golf, Easton Garcia and Joe Keresey each played key roles for back-to-back playoff football squads, and Garcia, Keresey and Connor Dugan were members of a postseason baseball team last spring.
Still, none of those appearances are in basketball, which makes playing at home a bit more of a comfort than usual.
“It is key,” Batiste said. “Like I said, this is the first time for all of our guys to be in the playoffs in their careers. I know some guys had experience in football and baseball, but the fun thing about basketball is anything can happen on every night.”
Even though these Demons are new to the scene, don’t expect Durango to change up too much. The postseason isn’t a time to drastically alter what got a team to this point, and Batiste, coaching in his first playoff game for DHS, isn’t about to reinvent the wheel. So expect the same high-energy defense and spread-out offense as has been there all year.
“We’ll just keep on playing our game,” the head coach said.
