Anthony Flint hit a 15-foot jump shot with five seconds to go in overtime, and then he had the game-clinching blocked shot to send the Durango High School boys basketball team past a stout Pagosa Springs team on the road Tuesday night.
Flint scored 23 points, and his game-winning basket sent the Durango Demons (6-4, 2-2 5A/4A Southwestern League) to a big 50-48 overtime win against the host Pirates (5-5, 3-3 3A Intermountain League).
“We ran a play for (Flint) and did a little handoff. He came off the handoff and hit his shot from about the free-throw line,” DHS head coach Alan Batiste said. “He had a huge game. Whenever we needed a bucket, he got us a bucket.”
It came on a night in which one Durango senior was not allowed to play after being placed in a 10-day quarantine. A group of DHS seniors have been quarantined after a student tested positive for COVID-19 within a DHS senior cohort.
“We needed everyone in this one to overcome a good team and COVID,” Batiste said. “Mitch Lewis for Pagosa is a load, and it took everything we had against him defensively. Walter Stauffer fouled out, but he had a huge stretch for us getting offensive rebounds, and then Haezen Mestas was giving us excellent minutes along with A.J. Folk. Luke Wesley also did a great job defensively against (Gunner Dozier).
“Credit to every kid tonight. I was proud we had no fall off and that all 12 we had on the bench played tough.”
Pending any potential COVID-19 cases, DHS is slated to play at 6 p.m. Friday against Fruita Monument. A Saturday home game against Grand Junction, scheduled as senior day, could be moved.
“We have four games left, and we have to win them all to have a chance at a tie for a league championship with Montrose, and we need them to lose one before we play them next week,” Batiste said. “We can’t control that. All we can do is worry about us and try to win every game these last four for a chance to make the playoffs.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
