Durango Trailblazers Tylen Riley (10) celebrates with his team after they defeat the Liberty Patriots, 65-59, during a NIAA Class 5A Southern Region championship game at Liberty High School in Henderson Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023.
Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023 | 9:10 p.m.
The Durango High basketball team used a rotation of only six players during the playoffs this week.
Yet, those six players don’t seem to get tired, especially at the end of games.
Durango never trailed tonight in the 5A Southern Conference championship game against host Liberty, using a team-best 18 points from Taj Degourville and 15 points from Tylen Riley in a 65-59 victory.
“We have a great group of guys. We stayed together and stayed resilient,” Riley said.
Liberty, the defending state champions, scored six straight points midway the fourth quarter to trim its deficit to two points, 50-48. Just when it appeared Liberty would pull away, Durango had other ideas in scoring seven straight points to strengthen the lead.
Riley had two baskets in the outburst and sophomore Jevon Yapi calmly buried a 3-pointer.
“It’s all about these guys. They kept fighting,” Durango coach Mike Lee said. “The guys really wanted it. We know there are a lot of teams that underestimate us, but these guys are locked in and don’t care.”
Lee raved about the determination of his players, who haven’t missed a beat over the last three weeks after he was elevated to head coach. The previous head coach stepped down after a disagreement with school officials.
“Coach Mike Lee stepped up,” Riley said. “He knows what he is doing and he’s a good coach. We stayed resilient through it all because we are a family.”
Durango’s players understand many consider them the underdog. It’s just they don’t have that mentality.
Durango on Thursday beat Bishop Gorman in the conference semifinals, meaning the Trailblazers — and not perennial power Gorman — would play in next week’s state tournament. They certainly will have plenty of momentum at state from winning on the road at Gorman and then Liberty in a three-day stretch.
“We played together the whole time,” Degourville said. “Everything we worked for is starting to pay off. It’s a really good feeling.”
Both Durango and Liberty advance to next week’s state tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center, where they’ll likely meet in the state title game Feb. 25. State semifinal games on Friday against Reno schools should be an easy win for both.
