Two players really stand out for the Fruita Monument boys basketball team. Durango had trouble stopping either of them as Fruita pulled away in the second half to beat Durango 58-42 on Friday night.
Fruita junior guard Jett Wells and senior forward Daniel Thomason combined to average 38 points per game before Friday night’s matchup with Durango. At 6-foot-6 and a strong 195 pounds, Thomason exploited Durango’s lack of size, lived in the paint on offense and finished easily to keep Fruita ahead for most of the night.
Once the Wildcats had the lead, Wells lived at the free-throw line and went 13-14 from the charity stripe in the second half to help Fruita pull away.
“It was a battle,” Durango head coach Alan Batiste said. “The score doesn't dictate how the game went. But overall, we didn't get a timely bucket when we needed it. They scored and we needed to score. I'm still proud of our defense; it’s our staple... we kind of settled on the perimeter again and didn’t put the pressure on their defense.”
Durango fell to 11-6 overall and 2-2 in the 6A/5A Southwestern League. Senior guard Noah Miles led Durango with 19 points; he was the only Demon in double figures. Batiste said the key to getting other Demons going offensively is by getting out in transition.
Fruita improved to 14-4 overall and 5-0 in the 6A/5A Southwestern League. Wells finished with 20 points and Thomason finished with 14 points.
Fruita got off to a strong start with two 3-pointers from Gavin Bradshaw. Miles hit his first 3-point attempt but Durango struggled in the middle of the quarter against Fruita’s zone defense. Sophomore guard King Kerlin and Miles hit 3-pointers toward the end of the quarter but Fruita still led 15-11 after the first quarter.
The Wildcats increased their lead to 28-21 with 1:30 left in the second with a strong inside presence. Fruita ran its offense well and finished strong inside off some good sets. Durango settled for 3-pointers during this time and was cold from beyond the arc. Fruita led 28-23 at halftime.
Fruita went inside to Thomason in the third and had success with two and-one opportunities. Durango started the third by getting inside but started to settle for 3-pointers again. Miles hit one to keep the Demons within striking distance at 35-30 with 3:22 left. Thomason continued to cook in the paint and had two late baskets to put Fruita ahead 44-33 after three quarters.
“We were overhelping a little bit too much,” Batiste said about Thomason. “We had a little strategy and we'll play him again in three weeks. We'll see how it goes. But, he's a good player. It seems like he's been here eight years, but he's a good player. If he gets it low, he’s hard to stop so we can't let him get that low. We need to push him out and make him shoot perimeter shots.”
Durango started the fourth quarter with a string of good defensive possessions, but the Demons struggled to make shots and Fruita maintained a healthy lead. Durango started to foul and Wells made them pay.
The Demons play Grand Junction on Saturday at 3 p.m.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
