The Durango boys basketball team and Fruita Monument were neck and neck for almost their entire contest on Saturday.

Fruita Monument, however, escaped with a narrow win, 46-44.

The Wildcats took a 13-7 lead after the first quarter, but DHS won the second quarter, 13-10, and the third quarter, 15-14, to head into the fourth trailing by two, 35-33.

Durango, however, was unable to finish closing the gap, tying Fruita 9-9 in the final frame to come up just short, 46-44, in the 4A/5A Southwestern League contest.

Anthony Flint knocked down four 3-pointers and both his free-throw attempts to lead Durango with 14 points.

Walter Stauffer scored nine points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Dylan Bettin scored eight, Jasper Zastrocky added five, and Luke Wesley and Zach Haber each scored four.

With the loss, DHS slips to 6-9 overall and 1-2 in the SWL. Fruita improved to 6-8, 1-1.

The Demons will next play at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday when the boys host Telluride (1-5, 1-3 2A/1A San Juan Basin League).

DHS will then play league-leading and No. 4-ranked 4A Montrose (15-0, 2-0) on Saturday.