It was clear early that the familiar faces on the Durango and Ignacio boys basketball teams were prepared to go back-and-forth all night with area bragging rights on the line.
It was a late third-quarter run, courtesy of the Durango Demons’ Guy Bay, however, that broke the deadlock and paced an 8-0 run that was key in Durango’s 62-47 win against Ignacio High School on Tuesday night at Fort Lewis College’s Whalen Gymnasium.
Five Demons scored in double figures, but it was Bay who grabbed the momentum for the Demons (7-3) never gave it back.
“Guy can get hot and put points up in a hurry,” Durango head coach Alan Batiste said. “It was good to see the guys recognize that he was feeling it and he wasn’t shy about taking those shots. That was huge for us, and it turned the tide in our favor.”
Terrence Trujillo led the Demons with 14 points while Lucas Baken and Scott Morse added 12 each. Orion Clay had 11 points in the win.
Neither team could grab control through the majority of the first three quarters.
The biggest lead on either side in the first half was a five point Ignacio (8-1, 3-0 Class 2A San Juan Basin League) advantage that was wiped away in no time.
The two familiar foes exchanged the lead seven times in a tightly played first half, but Durango went ahead 27-25 on the final possession of the second quarter on Morse’s fadeaway jumper in the paint.
Morse led the Demons in the first half with seven points and finished with an impressive double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Ignacio star point guard Wyatt Hayes was held relatively in check in the first half.
In the second half, however, Hayes tried to assert himself a bit more. The Fort Lewis commit finished the night with a game-high 17 points on his future home gym.
“I love playing here and the atmosphere is great,” said Hayes, son of Cindy and Tim Hayes. “It was a tough loss, but it’s a great learning experience for us. This is how tournament games are, and Durango is a good test for us.”
Hayes tried his best to keep the Bobcats in it, but the back-and-forth exchanges continued until Durango went on a big run at the end of the third quarter to grab some momentum.
“It’s my job to come in and make shots,” said Bay, son of Dale and Nancy Bay. “I just want to do whatever I can to help. I love to win, and I’m proud to have done my job this time around.”
Hayes’ third 3-pointer of the night cut the deficit to seven, but Durango extended the lead back to double-digits.
Ignacio’s Tucker Ward scored two points and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds in the loss. Anthony Manzanares had 12 points for Ignacio.
“Durango played a great game,” said Ignacio head coach Chris Valdez. “This is why we schedule these games. We like playing good teams, and we’ll be able to build off of what happened. That’s why we schedule this game, and both sides love playing in it.”
jfries@durangoherald.com
