The Durango High School basketball teams came up on the losing end in a pair of tough matchups Friday at Fruita Monument.
The Demons’ boys team made a big second-half run to strike some fear into the Wildcats but came up on the losing end of a 65-52 final. Kyle Kirkpatrick led Durango with 18 points. Steven Wyman and Kobe Szura each had 12 points in the loss.
“We got down early and really worked hard to get in back to a close game a couple times,” Durango head coach Alan Batiste said. “We cut it to two and just couldn’t come all the way back. They played off the crowd energy and had a guy come off the bench and lead the team in scoring. They’re a good team and they deserve all the credit for this one because I was happy with our effort.”
The Demons (11-3, 0-2 5A/4A Southwestern League) trailed by 10 at halftime but chipped away at the lead in a hurry to start the second half. Durango went on a 9-1 run in the third quarter and made it a one-possession game. However, the Fruita Monument (8-9, 1-1 SWL) reserve that did the Demons in was Daren Davison, who had a game-high 25 points. The Demons couldn’t find a way to stop him enough to prevent the Wildcats from pulling away late.
“Overall, I’m happy with where we’re at,” Batiste said. “We need to learn how to execute a little better down the stretch, but I feel like we’re getting better and better each night. That’s all you can ask right now.”
The Demons will be back in action at 6:30 p.m., Saturday hosting Telluride.
Kruz Pardo dominated the first quarter, and Lawrence Valdez owned the third en route to a big Ignacio win at Ridgway.
Pardo scored 11 of his 18 points in the third quarter after making three consecutive 3-pointers that gave IHS an early 17-3 lead. Valdez scored 10 points in the third quarter and finished with a game-high 22 points against a young Ridgway squad.
The Bobcats improved to 7-3 overall and 5-0 in San Juan Basin League play with the win. The team’s next game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday at Mancos.
Girls Basketball
Girls BasketballThe Durango girls basketball team lost to Fruita Monument’s sixth-ranked Class 5A team by the score of 48-34. Katrina Chandler led the Demons with 14 points. Hilda Garcia added six and Jordan Baker finishd with three. Fruita’s Riley Snyder scored 21 points to lead the Wildcats.
“The girls played really hard and gave a really good team all they could handle,” Durango assistant coach Orlando Griego said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “They had a tough time dealing with our defense, but we just couldn’t make that final push.”
Durango trailed for much of the opening half but used a late first-half, 9-0 run to close the gap to one at halftime. The Demons couldn’t hold the home team for long, though.
Fruita (15-1, 2-0 SWL) started the second half with an 11-2 run that gave the hosts a double-digit lead. The Demons fought back to pull within six points late in the third quarter, but that’s as close as they would get.
Durango (10-6, 1-1 SWL) will turn around and head back north next weekend for a 5:30 p.m. Friday game against Grand Junction Central before playing at Montrose the next day.
Avionne Gomez poured in 24 points, Morgan Herrera added another 17, and the Ignacio Bobcats stormed past Ridgway on Friday night. Herrera had a double-double thanks to 13 rebounds. Gomez also had seven rebounds, four assists and four steals.
It was a make-up game for the two teams, who had their game scheduled for Jan. 14 postponed by weather.
The win improved the Bobcats’ record to 6-3 overall and 4-0 in the San Juan Basin League. Ridgway fell to 2-6 and 2-2 in league.
IHS will stay on the road to face Nucla on Saturday.
Sports editor John Livingston contributed to this report.
jfries@durangoherald.com
