Everything was stacked against the Durango Demons’ boys basketball team in Saturday’s Colorado High School Activities Association Class 4A Sweet 16 matchup of the boys basketball state tournament against Pueblo West, but the Demons gave the hosts all they could handle.
Durango (17-8) led after one quarter, and the game was tied with four minutes to play before the home team pulled away down the stretch to win 52-41 and advance to the Elite 8. DHS senior Orion Clay had 11 first-quarter points and led the Demons with 15 points overall, while senior Terrence Trujillo added 12 in his final game for Durango High School.
“Nobody was scared of (Pueblo West), and I think we surprised them at first,” Durango head coach Alan Batiste said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “We took the crowd out of it, and we had some momentum in the fourth quarter, but nothing went our way down the stretch.”
The Demons trailed by six heading into the final quarter, but back-to-back 3-pointers from Trujillo sparked an 8-2 run to start the fourth that tied the game at 39.
With 4 minutes remaining and the top seed on the ropes, Lucas Baken came away with a loose ball and headed in for a wide open layup that would have given Durango the lead. The officials, however, called a questionable loose ball foul on Trujillo that prevented the go-ahead basket.
“It was just a tough call, and it definitely changed the momentum of the game,” Batiste said. “Their home crowd got back in the game after that, and they took the momentum back.”
When the Cyclones took the momentum, Durango had no answer.
Pueblo West (22-3) finished the game on a 13-2 run and punched its ticket to the Class 4A Elite 8. David Simental led all scorers with 19 for the Cyclones.
The loss was the last high school basketball game for Durango’s Baken, Guy Bay, Clay, Seth Gilleland, Christian Gonzalez, Lawrence Mayberry, Scott Morse and Trujillo.
“I’m proud of how much this group accomplished this season because not too long ago the program was in a pretty dark place,” Batiste said. “These guys changed the chemistry this year and continued to play hard no matter what, so I couldn’t be more proud.”
jfries@durangoherald.com
