Defense, timely shooting leads Pueblo West boys basketball past Durango
PUEBLO — In all three of Pueblo West’s regular season losses, the Cyclones failed to score more than 60 points. In fact, they were 2-3 this season when failing to break that 60-point mark.
But they’re 1-0 in the playoffs.
The Cyclones (22-3 overall) overcame a strong defensive showing from Durango and hung on to beat the Demons 52-41 to advance to the Great 8 of the Class 4A state playoffs.
It was no secret that the Demons (17-8) were going to do everything possible to disrupt the high-tempo Cyclones and limit their scoring ability.
“I think they’re coaches do a good job analyzing what works best and going with it and staying with it,” Pueblo West coach Robert Tyler said. “Once they figured out that we were having trouble with that match-up zone they kind of stayed in it. They came out of it once and went man for a while. We scored twice and they went right back to that match-up zone.”
In order to survive, the Cyclones knew they had to be just as resilient on the defensive end. It was a rough start as the Demons knocked down five 3-pointers in the first quarter.
Orion Clay scored 11 of his team-high 15 points for the Demons in that stretch and initially the Cyclones were put on their heels. But that’s when one of their best offensive weapons in Kenny Tack began to provide a sound defensive effort.
“I’ve been wanting to work on defense a lot and playoffs boost everything,” Tack said. “Coaches said if (David Simental) is having a bad game, the whole team would pick it up.”
Two defining moments came for Tack, who scored 14 points for the Cyclones, and both came in the fourth quarter. With about four minutes left, Terrance Trujillo knocked down 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to tie pull the score even at 39-39.
Tack responded with a big three of his own to regain the lead for the Cyclones and shifting momentum in their favor. But even as the home crowd went into a frenzy, he knew the game was still not in hand.
“We always want to be on our toes,” he said. “We don’t want to think that we won the game on that shot.”
As the Demons fought to pull even once again, it was Tack who came up with a key block that resulted in Pueblo West regaining possession of the ball.
It was the kind of play that Tyler and the coaching wants to see out of a guy who is primarily an offensive weapon they simply call “The Sniper.”
“Kenny now has an individual coach on defense,” Tyler said. “Coach McGraw’s job is to stay on Kenny’s butt the entire game. Kenny has been amazing these last two games, defensively.”
And just as they Friday night, fourth quarter free throws became a crucial component that helped the Cyclones advance to the next round.
Semintal once again got to the line and in the final eight minutes, knocked down all four of his shots.
“David Simental is probably not going to break any CHSAA free throws records for a season,” Tyler said. “But if they had a record for fourth quarter free throw percentage, I guarantee he’s probably one of the best I’ve ever seen.”
For the Demons, the loss was a tough one to swallow. They felt that if they stuck to their game plan and limited the Cyclones offensively that they could advance to the next round.
“We executed perfectly,” Demons coach Alan Batiste said. “They did everything we asked. We told them they couldn’t have 16 turnovers at the end of the game, they had 15. If (the Cyclones) were going to beat us, they would beat us in the 50s. They had 51.”
But Durango just couldn’t get enough offense. They totaled nine 3-pointers on the day, but only shot 26 percent as a team from inside the arc.
With the win, the Cyclones are slated to host their Great 8 match-up next Saturday against Denver South.
