Kobe Szura scored more points in the first minute of Tuesday’s game than Shiprock did the entire first half.
The Durango High School senior opened Tuesday’s varsity boys basketball game with two consecutive made 3-pointers coming off Shiprock turnovers, and he kept pouring it on with 10 first-quarter points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting performance to give the Demons a 15-2 lead after one quarter.
The Shiprock Chieftains made two free throws in the first quarter and only one shot from the field – a Landon Henderson 3-pointer – in the second quarter, as the Demons (10-1) built a 28-5 halftime lead. That’s all Durango needed to secure an 56-40 win for its 10th victory of the season.
Szura scored Durango’s first 10 points and finished with a game-high 14 on 5-of-6 shooting from the field and 2-of-2 from the foul line.
“I didn’t have a good shooting game last time out, so I wanted to get out there and put up some points finally,” Szura said. “I didn’t have a shoot-first mind-set, but coach told me not to stop shooting until I missed. If I had the open look, I took it. If not, I know I have other shooters to get the ball to.”
Durango’s defense led to the blowout win. The Demons blocked eight shots in the first half alone, led by three from Steven Wyman. Those blocks got in the head of the Shiprock players, who struggled to finish on drives to the basket for layups while altering shots.
“We had a height advantage, so that helped blocking shots and getting on the break,” said Durango’s Kyle Kirkpatrick.
So the Chieftains (6-11) attempted more jump shots in the second half and found offense from behind the 3-point line. Shiprock outscored Durango 20-19 in the third quarter, but it was much too little to overcome the earlier deficit.
Kirkpatrick finished with 10 points and had three steals in the first half. Seth Johnson scored seven points, all in the fourth quarter primarily from the foul line. Wyman finished with six points and had five first-half rebounds.
Henderson led the Chieftains with 10 points.
Durango saw solid play defensively from Zac Geauthreaux, and guard Jordan Shefferd showed great court awareness. He finished with five points.
The Demons played their bench the entirety of the fourth quarter and most of the third, giving rest to starters at the beginning of a busy stretch of schedule with Class 4A/5A Southwestern League play set to begin at 1:30 p.m. Saturday against Grand Junction Central.
“We just want to keep playing our game as a team,” Kirkpatrick said. “Love each other on the court and we’ll be good. I think people are starting to know Durango is out here.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
