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Kennedy shines in Golden loss

DHS boys basketball can’t upset top seed

Caleb Kennedy left everything on the floor in his final high school basketball game.

The Durango High School senior scored a game-high 21 points and led his team with seven rebounds, but it wasn’t enough for No. 8 Durango to upset No. 1 Golden in the Richard Tate Region of the CHSAA Class 4A State Boys Basketball Championships. Golden (21-3) outscored DHS 22-7 in the second quarter to take a 35-18 halftime lead. That was all the cushion the top-seed in the region needed to win 68-43 in the opening round of the state tournament.

“Caleb had a great game. He dominated and held his own down low against 6-foot-6, 230-pound guys,” DHS head coach Alan Batiste said. “He should hold his head very high after that effort.”

The second quarter crushed DHS after it hung in the first quarter, going down 13-11. DHS outscored Golden 16-15 in the third quarter but was outscored 18-9 in the fourth to be sent home.

Cole Greff led Golden with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Ryan Thistlewood added 13 points, Ryan Blodgett had 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Cole Harris scored 12.

DHS was 7-of-22 from the 3-point line while Golden was 3-of-11. Golden did most of its work scoring inside with its big men.

Terrence Trujillo scored seven points for DHS, and Nate Atencio added six.

“The second quarter was the killer. We had some unforced turnovers, and they hit the offensive glass pretty good to get second-chance points and easy layups,” Batiste said. “But the boys played hard in a full-team effort all the way until the end.”

DHS finished the season 10-14 overall after a rough start, but making the state tournament for a fifth consecutive season was a win for the squad that will return a solid junior class next season.

“Those guys will step it up next year. We put ourselves in a great position by getting to the state tournament this year,” Batiste said. “The boys came together in the end and played good basketball.”

jlivingston@durangoherald.com



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