Players of the Durango High basketball team, from left Kendrick Gilbert, Tone Hunter and Keshon Gilbert, take a portrait during the Las Vegas Sun’s High School Basketball Media Day at the Red Rock Resort and Casino, Oct. 28, 2019.
Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020 | 12:08 a.m.
Related Content
The basketball was heading out of bounds when Durango guard Keshon Gilbert desperately dove to safe it. A few plays later, Tone Hunter hustled back on defense to force a turnover against Coronado in the Desert Regional semifinals, wrestling on the ground to secure the ball.
Kendrick Gilbert, despite injuring his wrist early in the game, twice converted offensive rebounds into points in the fourth quarter. And freshman Sebastian Mack couldn’t miss for most of the night, knocking down four 3-pointers in the first half to keep Durango within striking distance and finishing with a team-high 28 points.
Durango, despite trailing Coronado by 16 points in the first half, wasn’t going to be outworked. And they definitely didn’t quit on the season, mounting an epic comeback in the Desert Regional semifinals for an 81-77 victory and a spot in the state tournament.
“It’s win or go home,” Keshon Gilbert said. “If you are going to go home, you better leave it all on the floor and play your hardest.”
Coronado had the best player on the court in Jaden Hardy, a five-star recruit for the class of 2021 who finished with 31 points, and for most of the night was unstoppable. But Durango stuck to its game plan of double-teaming Hardy, which produced a few loose balls. More times than not, a hustle play went in Durango's favor.
Durango made 19-of-21 free throws, including all eight attempts in a frantic final 30 seconds. The two misses were by Kendrick Gilbert earlier in the game, but only after he injured his wrist when being fouled.
“We are a team that has to play in attack mode the whole time,” Durango coach Chad Beeten said. “And we weren’t in attack mode early.”
Durango had a losing record last season. But Beeten took over the program in April and instantly made them a contender.
Hunter, one of the area’s top scorers in 2018-19, has blossomed into one of the area’s best team players. Whether it was taking the ball to the basket, playing tough defense or knocking down clutch free throws, Hunter did it all in a 20-point effort.
“We just kept believing,” Hunter said. “Our goal was state and we stuck to that. It was a work ethic that we bought into since Day One.”
Keshon Gilbert, the UNLV commit, was equally impressive. He had 16 points and also played tough defense. Hardy was the leading scorer and often scored with multiple players guarding him, but it could have been worse. Jaxon Kohler added 10 points for Coronado, but no other Cougar scored in double figures.
“We talked before the game, ‘This is what we have been talking about since April. Let’s take it,’” Beeten said.
Durango plays Bishop Gorman at 7 p.m. Thursday at Desert Oasis for the regional title. The winner advances to Reno; the loser plays the loser of the Mountain Regional on Saturday in the opening round of state.
Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21
