On the road and trailing in the fourth quarter, the Durango High School boys basketball team put together its best effort of the 2021 season late in Tuesday’s game.
The Demons mounted a 14-1 run late in the fourth quarter with key baskets from Anthony Flint, A.J. Folk, Ty Martinez and Luke Wesley along with strong free-throw shooting. DHS trailed 45-40 early in the fourth quarter but would lead by as much as 55-48 after its big run.
Behind a game-high 19 points from Flint, DHS won 56-50 to improve to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in the 5A/4A Southwestern League.
“We made a simple adjustment on our defense and cut down on their penetration,” DHS head coach Alan Batiste said. “It was about our angles on the weak side so that we stopped fouling. Our trap was really good, and we started getting turnovers. That was the key.”
Cole Savage led Fruita Monument (1-3, 0-1 SWL) with 17 points.
The teams were evenly matched all game and went into the locker room tied 34-34 at halftime.
Batiste credited Folk and Sam Johnson for bringing energy to the Durango defense in the second half, while Martinez hit big 3s to give DHS momentum.
Wesley finished with eight points for DHS. Folk had seven with five in the fourth quarter. Jasper Zastrocky scored another seven, while Martinez had eight.
“Just an overall team effort all night,” Batiste said. “We made more free throws than we did in our loss against Bayfield, which was nice to see. The boys made the right plays when we needed them to.”
DHS will hit the road again Friday night for a game at Grand Junction.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
