Durango sweeps archrival Montezuma-Cortez in ’13-14
Dane Mestas and the Durango Demons protected their home court for a 50-39 victory over archrival Montezuma-Cortez on Tuesday night at DHS in front of a packed house to complete their regular-season sweep of the Panthers. Mestas scored 14 points in the Demons’ victory.
Steve Lewis/Durango Herald
It was more Isiah Mayberry’s defense than offense Tuesday night in the Durango Demons’ archrivalry game against the Montezuma-Cortez Panthers. He shut down leading scorer Brackin Whiteskunk in the fourth quarter, while also coming up with eight big points in the victory.
Steve Lewis/Durango Herald
Durango High School freshman Josh Hobson jumps into the crowded paint in search of a layup. Points were tough to come by in the paint all night, but Hobson scored four points and drew some fouls to get to the free throw line.
Steve Lewis/Durango Herald
DHS sophomore Orion Clay did his best to stop Montezuma-Cortez guard Jonathan Walck on Tuesday night at DHS. Clay wasn’t a factor on offense, but he and the Demons held Walck’s Panthers to just 39 points.
Steve Lewis/Durango Herald
DHS junior Nate Atencio was a magician with the ball late in the fourth quarter of Durango’s big win Tuesday. Atencio delivered two key 3-pointers in the fourth quarter while setting up his teammates with good passes.
Steve Lewis/Durango Herald
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - DURANGO - Durango's Dane Mestas, center, fights with Cortez' Brackin Whiteskunk, far left, Jonathan Walck, left, and Randy Haley, right, during the second half of the game between the Durango High School Demons and the Montezuma-Cortez High School Panthers on Tuesday evening at DHS. The Demons won the game 50 to 39.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - DURANGO - Durango's Nate Atencio tries to escape Cortez defenders Randy Haley, left, and Brackin Whiteskunk in the second half of the game between the Durango High School Demons and the Montezuma-Cortez High School Panthers on Tuesday evening at DHS. The Demons won the game 50 to 39.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - DURANGO - Cortez' Randy Haley attempts a shot late in the second half of the game between the Durango High School Demons and the Montezuma-Cortez High School Panthers on Tuesday evening at DHS. The Demons won the game 50 to 39.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - Durango's Orion Clay fights for a rebound in the first half of the game between the Durango High School Demons and the Montezuma-Cortez High School Panthers on Tuesday evening at DHS. The Demons won the game 50 to 39.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - Cortez' Isiah Mayberry scores in the first half of the game between the Durango High School Demons and the Montezuma-Cortez High School Panthers on Tuesday evening at DHS. The Demons won the game 50 to 39.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - Durango's Josh Hobson scored a free throw after being fouled in the first half of the game between the Durango High School Demons and the Montezuma-Cortez High School Panthers on Tuesday evening at DHS. The Demons won the game 50 to 39.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - Durango's Trent Andrews, left, and Orion Clay, right, foil a shot by Cortez' Jonathan Walck, center, in the first half of the game between the Durango High School Demons and the Montezuma-Cortez High School Panthers on Tuesday evening at DHS. The Demons won the game 50 to 39.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - Cortez' Konnar McGee in the first half of the game between the Durango High School Demons and the Montezuma-Cortez High School Panthers on Tuesday evening at DHS. The Demons won the game 50 to 39.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - Durango's Nate Atencio in the first half of the game between the Durango High School Demons and the Montezuma-Cortez High School Panthers on Tuesday evening at DHS. The Demons won the game 50 to 39.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - Cortez' Jonathan Walck scores while being defended by Durango's Caleb Kennedy in the first half of the game between the Durango High School Demons and the Montezuma-Cortez High School Panthers on Tuesday evening at DHS. The Demons won the game 50 to 39.
Playing in front of a packed gymnasium, the Durango Demons completed a regular-season sweep of their archrival.
Durango High School (11-5, 7-1 Southwestern League) downed Montezuma-Cortez 50-39 at home Tuesday night. Although they missed 20 layups and shot just 14-of-27 from the free throw line, Durango did enough to take care of the game late in the fourth quarter.
“A win is a win, but we have to play better than that at home in a rivalry game,” DHS head coach Alan Batiste said. “We just didn’t prepare ourselves (Monday) in practice, and it showed.”
Montezuma-Cortez played close with Durango the entire night. After trailing 24-18 at halftime, the Panthers cut their deficit to 35-33 going into the fourth quarter of play.
The Demons led just 36-35 with five minutes left in the fourth quarter when junior guard Nate Atencio knocked down a pair of 3-point baskets to stretch Durango’s lead to seven points.
“We couldn’t get nothing going offensively. Cortez had a lot of energy and put pressure on our guards,” Batiste said. “Atencio being able to hit that brought relief after only scoring every two minutes or so.”
Stepping up big defensively for the Demons was senior Isiah Mayberry, who shut out the Panthers’ Brackin Whiteskunk in the fourth quarter after Whiteskunk scored 10 of his team-high 13 points in the third quarter.
“Our biggest focus was to stop Whiteskunk. We know he is their best player,” said Durango senior center Trent Andrews, who came up with several big rebounds in the fourth quarter. “We put Isiah on him, and he was the hero.”
Dane Mestas led Durango with 14 points in the win. He scored 11 of those points in the second quarter. Andrews finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Atencio finished with 10 points.
Whiteskunk was the only Panther in double figures.
“I have to give credit to Durango. They played tough,” Montezuma-Cortez head coach Dusty DeBoer said. “They are a good team and well-coached. We respect them, but I thought for the second time in a row we had our shots to win this game. Between a couple of tough calls and our 24 turnovers, it was too much to overcome.”
DeBoer said he hopes they get another shot at DHS in the SWL tournament.
“We are itching for it. We are just hoping that our seeds play out so we can play them again,” DeBoer said. “It is hard to beat any team three times. Everyone in our locker room feels that (Durango) is a team that is very beatable. Plus, it is a rivalry, so we always look for that.”
The Demons have a chance to earn a share of the SWL regular-season championship if they can beat Montrose and Grand Junction at home this Friday and Saturday. Durango beat Montrose 51-48, and its lone league loss came at Grand Junction, 46-27.
“We just have to have good practices and bring the energy to it that we have the last month or so,” Batiste said.
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