The Durango High School boys basketball team advanced to the championship game of the Chieftain Invitational in Shiprock on Friday after a thrilling 40-38 victory against Navajo Prep.
The Demons (2-0) led 10-3 after the first quarter, but Navajo Prep (1-1) used a 3-point shooting barrage to take a 19-18 lead at halftime.
The final few minutes came down to the wire. Durango had a chance to go up by 12 points late, but a missed layup opened the door for the Eagles (1-1), as they went on a 7-0 run with four minutes remaining and forced Durango head coach Alan Batiste to call a timeout to calm his team down.
“It was a turn of events that happened really quick, but I’m proud of our fight down the stretch,” Batiste said. “After they closed the gap, we fought tooth and nail to stay ahead.”
Navajo Prep had a chance to win the game after they had the ball for the final possession. The Eagles missed an initial 3-pointer, but the rebound slipped away from a Durango player and went out of bounds. After the ensuing timeout, the Eagles attempted a game-winning 3-point shot, but it hit off the backboard and was no good.
Senior guard Al Hurworth led the Demons with 11 points, while Cullen Robinette chipped in nine. DHS went 7-of-18 from the free-throw line. The big stat came in the rebounding category, as the Demons controlled the glass with a 25-7 advantage. Batiste credited senior post man Wildon Wright for the performance of the night.
“While we got it done as a team, I thought Wildon was a huge contributor after he played around two minutes yesterday,” Batiste said. “He played most of the minutes tonight at the four spot and came up huge for us.”
Durango will play Newcomb at 6:30 p.m. Saturday night for the tournament championship. Newcomb beat host Shiprock on Friday.
“It feels so good for the boys because last year we didn’t win a game here, and we were honestly in a dark place last year as a program, so for us to be able to play for the championship game at a tournament as special as this, it really means a lot,” Batiste said. “It might be early in the season, but it shows how far we’ve come in the past year. We know how crazy the atmosphere will be, and the line was out the door when we were leaving the court tonight, so it just shows you how much they love their basketball down here. It’s Durango versus everybody. We’re playing that whole gym tomorrow.”
The Ignacio Bobcats got big production out of a newcomers and an up-and-coming guard in the season opener Friday in Limon.
Ignacio (1-0) trailed Crowley County 11-10 after one quarter but stormed out to a 24-16 halftime lead that ballooned to a 52-38 final. Bryce Finn led the team with 16 points, while sophomore Triston Thompson scored 14 points in his Bobcat debut.
“Bryce missed three or four wide-open layups on post-ups in the first half, but the second half he didn’t miss a shot he did attempt,” said IHS head coach Chris Valdez. “Triston really didn’t play last year, but he came out and attacked the basket well and got most of his points in transition. He’s a really good attacker and finisher.”
Valdez said the team calmed down after the first quarter and ran through their offensive plays better. IHS also played through foul trouble with Ocean Hunter and Brady McCaw. Hunter scored eight points, all in the second half, while playing through foul trouble.
McCaw added five before he fouled out in the fourth quarter.
IHS will face tournament-host Limon at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
“They didn’t lose any kids from last year, and they probably should have been in the state tournament instead of us, but we had a great game,” Valdez said. “They might be a bit rusty coming off a football championship, but they’re gonna be tough.”
It was a tough season opener for the defending Class 3A state champion Bayfield boys basketball team.
The Wolverines trailed Kent Denver 40-15 at halftime and fell 72-56 in Kent Denver’s Herman Schayes Invitational.
Kent Denver quickly led 15-6 after one quarter. The Wolverines (0-1) played much better in the second half, but it wouldn’t be enough to overcome the Sun Devils (1-0).
“I think we had first-game jitters and stuff because I thought we really played well in the second half after that,” said BHS head coach Klint Chandler.
“We tried to do too much in the first half and not play as a team. Then we came together and moved the ball more and played better defense.”
Chandler said the press defense in the second half helped the Wolverines, and he said he should have gone to it sooner.
Turner Kennedy led BHS with 30 points.
“He pretty much carried us on the offensive end,” Chandler said. “I thought Matt McSweeney came in and played really well defensively and rebounded well, too.”
BHS will face The Pinnacle at 11 a.m. Saturday in Denver.
Girls Basketball
Girls BasketballThe Ignacio High School girls basketball team got its season off to a solid start with a 46-35 victory over Crowley County in the first round of the Limon Invitational on Friday afternoon.
Ignacio (1-0) led 12-3 after the first quarter and extended the lead to 29-13 at halftime. Junior Larissa Gallegos had a team-high 13 points for the Bobcats, while sophomore forward Shelcie Gosney recorded a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds. The Valdez sisters, Charlize and Kiana, combined for 17 points, as Charlize had 10 points and Kiana chipped in seven.
Ignacio played around the foul trouble of Makayla Howell, who had two quick fouls and a third to start the second quarter.
“Regardless, we had other players who stepped up in a big way for us tonight,” IHS head coach Justa Whitt said.
The No. 10 ranked Bobcats in Class 2A will face host No. 2 Limon at 4 p.m. Saturday.
“All in all, it wasn’t our best start, but it also wasn’t a bad start, either,” Whitt said. “We’re hoping to have a better game tomorrow and we’ve got a bit to work on, but I’m pleased for our first game of the year.”
A slow start doomed the Durango High School girls basketball team Friday, as the Demons dropped their second consecutive game of the season, 38-31 to Whitehorse of Utah in Shiprock’s Jerry Richardson Memorial Tournament.
The Demons were scoreless at the end of the first quarter and had five points at halftime, as they went to the locker room down 23-5. “Yesterday, during our first game of the season, we didn’t finish well,” said DHS head coach Tim Fitzpatrick. “Today, the second game, we didn’t start well, but we finished alright. So, for the third game tomorrow, we’ll be hoping to put together an entire game on both ends of the court.”
DHS (0-2) chipped away at the 18-point halftime deficit and outscored the Raiders (4-1) 26-15 in the second half.
“I was proud of the second half effort and they really got after it in the fourth quarter,” Fitzgerald said. “We got good minutes particularly from Jael Larson, who scored all of her points in the fourth quarter. But, at the end of the day, we didn’t have a good shooting day and shot 14 percent from the floor and went 1-of-2 from beyond the arc.”
Durango was led by senior Tayler Dossey, who had 11 points, while fellow senior Danielle Lee chipped in eight points.
The Demons will play at 8 a.m. Saturday against Navajo Pine of New Mexico.
bploen@durangoherald.com
