After three quarters of basketball Saturday afternoon and Durango trailing by 10, the opening weekend of league play looked like it was going to be disaster for the Demons.
However, the senior-led Demons turned up the energy and effort in the final quarter and came all the way back to beat Grand Junction Central 52-50.
Orion Clay scored 20 points for the second consecutive game and pulled down six rebounds to lead Durango (8-4, 1-1 Southwestern League) in both categories. Lucas Baken added eight points for Durango, six of which came in the fourth quarter. Baken was 4-for-4 from the foul line in the last few minutes and the Demons made 8-for-10 free throws in the fourth quarter while tightening up on defense to crawl all the way back.
“We did a poor job of running the offense for most of the game and it wasn’t looking good there for awhile,” said Durango head coach Alan Batiste. “The last quarter came down to senior leadership and our guys did what they had to do. We clamped down on defense, and we took advantage of them being in foul trouble. It was huge to get this win because losing the first two at home would have been tough to come back from.”
After trailing by one point at halftime, the Demons put together a lackluster six-point third quarter, and the Warriors took advantage. Heads were shaking and others were hanging in the Durango huddle between quarters, but the home team found life when they needed it most.
Durango increased the tempo and started the fourth quarter on a 10-2 run to make it a one-possession game. Baken and Clay carried much of the load late as the two combined for a perfect 7-for-7 from the line. While Clay was grabbing rebounds and altering shots, Baken turned up the quality of play on both ends.
Down by one in the final minutes, Baken drew a charge on the defensive end, and the Demons took the lead back. When the Warriors (12-3, 1-1 SWL) responded with a bucket to retake the lead, Baken was sent to the foul line twice and made four in a row without the ball touching the rim. It was a much-needed clutch performance from the senior late in the game.
“I’ve been shooting free throws on that hoop for years,” said Baken, son of Dante and Jessica Baken. “I knew that I needed to step up and someone needed to ice this game. I was able to make them late but we all were clutch from the line down the stretch.”
Warriors’ big men Zach Labine and Hunter Kelchner were hard to handle for Durango in the first half. The two Central bigs took it to the basket with regularity and were key in the success the visitors had in the first three quarters. Labine finished with 16 points and Kelchner had 11.
“They made a lot of adjustments late and started diving down on our post players,” said Grand Junction Central head coach Ryan Hayden. “They did a good job with that and they got us in foul trouble which was enough to make the difference.”
The late adjustments made by Batiste and the Demons resulted in a six-point final quarter for the Warriors that allowed Durango to complete the comeback.
The Demons will try to keep the momentum going at 7 p.m. Tuesday at rival Montezuma-Cortez.
jfries@durangoherald.com
