The Durango High School boys basketball team looked like it was going to have its signature win of the season against Montrose on Saturday, but the Demons ran out of gas in the fourth quarter and lost 43-39 at home.
Durango’s defense was strong most of the day as the Demons lacked size compared to the Red Hawks. Excellent jump shooting in the second quarter put Durango up at the half, but the Demons’ offense struggled to penetrate the Montrose defense in the fourth quarter. On the other hand, Montrose used its size to finish inside and get to the free-throw line, allowing the Red Hawks to pull off a come-from-behind victory.
“A couple minor mistakes for us, a couple turnovers, and we're right there,” Durango acting head coach Orlando Griego said. “I'm very proud of these guys. They played their tails off; they played so hard; they bought into our game plan; they're flying all over the place.”
Durango lost its fourth consecutive game and dropped to 4-10 overall and 0-3 in the 6A/5A Southwestern League. Junior guard Boaz Zastrocky led the Demons with nine points. Sophomore guard Taj Batiste and junior forward Jude Alderton each added eight points.
Montrose improved to 11-5 overall and 2-1 in the 6A/5A Southwestern League with the win. Freshman Cache Oberg led the Red Hawks with 14 points.
It was a back-and-forth first quarter, with both teams hitting some jump shots. Durango was really trying to push the pace off Montrose’s makes or misses.
However, the Red Hawks finished the quarter strong as Durango struggled with turnovers. The Red Hawks hit a 3-pointer and finished with a slam in transition to put Montrose up 14-7 at the end of the first quarter.
“It was more us settling into the game,” Griego said. “We were a little timid; we didn’t know how to respond; we were out of sync. We burned a couple of timeouts there just to get them back in the flow, build their confidence and allow them to keep going.”
Durango took a lot of time off the clock to start the second quarter, running through its sets until an opportunity presented itself. The Demons were also really working on defense, swiping the ball away and diving on the floor to get the turnover. Batiste had a nice save/pass to Alderton, who finished inside, and an Alderton led to a layup, which cut Montrose’s lead to 16-15 with 3:40 left in the half.
A Zostrocky fade-away jumper gave Durango a 20-19 lead with 2:39 left. The Demons continued to have a lot of energy on the defensive end, forcing Red Hawk guards into turnovers, which was important because Montrose had a size advantage inside.
The Demons continued to really shoot the ball well from outside; Batiste made his second triple to put Durango up 25-19 at the half.
“Our first half, we were really making that defense collapse and getting our shots open,” Griego said. “So they were taking really good shots.”
Montrose battled back to start the third quarter by getting in the paint, finishing inside and drawing fouls. Another offensive rebound for the Red Hawks tied the game at 27 with 4:20 left in the third. Durango held on to its lead thanks to a few free throws by Alderton, and the Demons led 33-32 after three quarters.
A 6-0 run to start the fourth quarter gave the Red Hawks the lead to start the fourth. Durango was struggling to initiate offense, leading to turnovers and fast-break points for Montrose. It felt like Durango was playing against an elite Tony Bennett-coached Virginia team with how much time it took Durango to get looks. The Demons’ 40-36 deficit with two minutes left felt like a 10-point margin.
“It was a little more challenging in the second half,” Greigo said. “We weren't attacking as much or getting downhill, getting into the paint and making those guys suck in to hit our shooters on the outside. So, we need to be a little more aggressive on that.”
Montrose missed a corner 3-pointer up four with a minute left, but the Red Hawks used their size advantage to get the offensive rebound, and Durango was forced to foul.
Durango will play at Fruita Monument on Thursday at 7 p.m.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
