Durango boys rally for road win

At halftime, it did not feel like a game Durango’s boys basketball team had a chance to win.

After a change of strategy on defense and a sudden surge on offense, the Trailblazers were not only able to come back but earn a 79-68 road win over Desert Oasis on Friday.

The Trailblazers (7-7, 5-2 Southwest League) had dug themselves into a nine-point hole, but more importantly they had no answers for the Desert Oasis junior Jacob Heese who scored 22 in the first half. He ended the half by drawing a foul from beyond the 3-point line and sinking all three free throws.

The momentum was squarely on the side of Heese and Desert Oasis (10-12, 2-5).

“(Heese) is really good. He’s a really good shooter,” Durango coach DeShawn Henry said. “He knows his spots so you just try to disrupt him.”

The turning point came with 1:18 to play in the third quarter with the Trailblazers down 54-52. Freshman Anthony Hunter sank a deep 3-point shot to give his team a lead it would not relinquish.

Hunter led the Trailblazers with 26 points. Senior Demetrius Valdez added 20 points for Durango.

The 3-point shots were nowhere to be found for the Trailblazers in the first half, but their shooters found their groove to make six shots from beyond the 3-point line after halftime to help bring them back. Hunter had a run of sinking four 3-pointers in a row in the fourth quarter.

The most important reason the Trailblazers were able to climb back was their ability to neutralize Heese in the most critical moments of the second half.

“You could see that he went cold a little bit for a stretch but then he made some shots and found other ways to score,” Henry said. “You have to take advantage when he goes cold. You have to make a push and go on a run. We were fortunate enough to do that.”

By the time the fourth quarter started, players on Desert Oasis were noticeably tired and missing shots they made easily in the first three quarters.

“We just tried speed it up,” Henry said. “(The Diamondbacks) were down a couple of guys and we had plenty of subs so we just tried to speed up the game a little bit so they would have to run and get a little tired.”

Heese finished with 39 points. Senior Taiga Miyano scored 14 for the Diamondbacks.

“Our poise down the stretch really impressed me,” Henry said. “They made a push and made some shots, they got a little tired, but to be able to keep our poise, maintain that lead and close out the game was very impressive.”

Contact reporter Bill Slane at bslane@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4559. Follow @bill_slane on Twitter.