Kobe Szura of Durango High School takes a shot as Brian Mashak of Bayfield High School defends him on Saturday in the Four Corners Boys Basketball Tournament at Durango High School.
Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Steven Wyman of Durango High School pushes the ball as Ryan Phelps of Bayfield High School defends him on Saturday in the Four Corners Boys Basketball Tournament at Durango High School.
Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Steven Wyman of Durango High School goes up for a rebound while playing Bayfield High School on Saturday in the Four Corners Boys Basketball Tournament at Durango High School. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Durango High School cheer leaders perform during the game playing Bayfield High School on Saturday in the Four Corners Boys Basketball Tournament at Durango High School. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Durango High School plays Bayfield High School on Saturday in the Four Corners Boys Basketball Tournament at Durango High School. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Kyle Kirkpatrick of Durango High School takes a shot while playing Bayfield High School on Saturday in the Four Corners Boys Basketball Tournament at Durango High School. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Jeff Lehnus of Bayfield High School coaches while playing Durango High School on Saturday in the Four Corners Boys Basketball Tournament at Durango High School. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Keyon Prior of Bayfield High School drives the ball while playing Durango High School on Saturday in the Four Corners Boys Basketball Tournament at Durango High School. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Steven Wyman of Durango High School pushes the ball against Mckay Wells of Bayfield High School defends him on Saturday in the Four Corners Boys Basketball Tournament at Durango High School. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Cullen Robinette of Durango High School takes a shot as Mckay Wells of Bayfield High School defends him on Saturday in the Four Corners Boys Basketball Tournament at Durango High School. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Kobe Szura of Durango High School takes a shot while playing Bayfield High School on Saturday in the Four Corners Boys Basketball Tournament at Durango High School. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Liam Southwick of Durango High School goes for a rebound over Carl Heide of Bayfield High School defends him on Saturday in the Four Corners Boys Basketball Tournament at Durango High School. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Steven Wyman of Durango High School looks to pass the ball as Ryan Phelps of Bayfield High School defends him on Saturday in the Four Corners Boys Basketball Tournament at Durango High School. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Kobe Szura of Durango High School takes a shot as Brian Mashak of Bayfield High School defends him on Saturday in the Four Corners Boys Basketball Tournament at Durango High School. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Head coach Alan Batiste of Durango High School talks with his team while playing Bayfield High School defends him on Saturday in the Four Corners Boys Basketball Tournament at Durango High School. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Ryan Phelps of Bayfield High School puts up a shot while playing Durango High School on Saturday in the Four Corners Boys Basketball Tournament at Durango High School. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Steven Wyman of Durango High School pushes the ball as Ryan Phelps of Bayfield High School defends him on Saturday in the Four Corners Boys Basketball Tournament at Durango High School. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Hayden Farmer of Bayfield High School grabs a rebound while playing Durango High School on Saturday in the Four Corners Boys Basketball Tournament at Durango High School. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Zachary Geauthreaux of Durango High School pushes the ball as Dax Snooks of Bayfield High School defends him on Saturday in the Four Corners Boys Basketball Tournament at Durango High School. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Ryan Phelps of Bayfield High School puts up a shot while playing Durango High School on Saturday in the Four Corners Boys Basketball Tournament at Durango High School. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Keyon Prior of Bayfield High School drives the ball while playing Durango High School on Saturday in the Four Corners Boys Basketball Tournament at Durango High School. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Heading into what has been a lopsided, and rare, basketball rivalry between Bayfield and Durango, the Demons hadn’t lost to their neighbors to the east since 1949. After Saturday, Bayfield will have to wait even longer.
Durango jumped all over the visitors in the opening minutes and never let up as it cruised to a 55-38 win to cap off the inaugural Four Corners Boys Basketball Tournament. The win is the Demons’ fifth in a row.
Demons senior Kyle Kirkpatrick led all scorers with 18 points while Zach Geauthreaux chipped in nine.
“We wanted to come out and really push the pace so it was good to see the guys stick to the game plan,” Durango head coach Alan Batiste said. “We knew how bad they wanted to beat us and we had to make a statement early. Luckily, we were able to build a lead before they got really comfortable, and they did in that second half.”
The Demons’ zone defense and fast pace caught the Wolverines off guard at the start. DHS forced six Bayfield turnovers in the first quarter and, more importantly, took a load of minutes away from Bayfield’s Ryan Phelps as the big man had to sit after two early fouls. The suffocating defense and void in the middle sparked a 19-5 first half run that gave Durango (9-1) a comfortable 36-17 halftime lead.
Bayfield (4-5) was able to chip away in the second half, but struggled to get anything going at the offensive end consistently. The Wolverines couldn’t find enough open looks to make up the ground that needed to be gained to get back in the game.
“Coach Valdez said his kids looked like a deer in the headlights (Friday) against us, but that was us this time,” Bayfield’s Keyon Prior said. “I think we played scared as a team in that first half and they were able to get easy baskets off those turnovers. They did the same thing to us in the summer and just ate us up. They were even quicker this time.”
Hayden Farmer, who led BHS with 14 points, helped the Wolverines outscore the Demons in the second half. The damage had been done, however, and Durango walked away with another victory in the first of what should be many more chapters in nearly a century-old rivalry.
“I’d be lying if I said it was just another game for us, so it was nice to see us come out and play the way we did,” Kirkpatrick said. “They’re a classy team and I think we all enjoy playing each other.”
Though Bayfield wasn’t up to the task, the Wolverines are heading into league play starting at 7 p.m. Friday at home against Centauri.
“It was nice to see us win the second half and play the kind of basketball we can play,” Bayfield head coach Jeff Lehnus said. “We didn’t play our basketball in that first half and the guys know it. This is something we can certainly build off of. I think it’s great that Durango wants to play us. They have much more to lose from this than anyone else and, hats off to Coach Batiste and the Demons, but we’ll certainly build off of this.”
Durango will get an extended amount of time off before heading to the Shiprock Tournament Jan. 17.
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