{"id":13845,"date":"2026-01-22T22:15:57","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T05:15:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/cortez-beats-durango-to-complete-undefeated-run-through-southwestern-league\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:41:02","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:41:02","slug":"cortez-beats-durango-to-complete-undefeated-run-through-southwestern-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/cortez-beats-durango-to-complete-undefeated-run-through-southwestern-league\/","title":{"rendered":"Cortez beats Durango to complete undefeated run through Southwestern League"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"M-CHS
M-CHS senior Trace Hartsoe looks to drive the ball on Durango junior Jack Cuthbertson in a contest between the Panthers and Demons in The Jungle on Thursday night. Erika Alvero\/Special to The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

CORTEZ \u2013 For all the years the Panthers spent punching above their weight among the Western Slope\u2019s biggest schools in the Southwestern League, the 2025\u201326 season has taken on the feel of a revenge tour.<\/p>\n

After barnstorming through their former conference with a 4-0 record this winter, M-CHS head coach Mike Hall might not be receiving any invitations from the SWL to rejoin them anytime soon.<\/p>\n

On Friday night in front of a hopping Jungle crowd, the Panthers collected their most prized win in completing the sweep, bolting past Durango 67-45. The victory joined wins over Montrose (Jan. 20), Grand Junction (Dec. 20) and GJ Central (Dec. 18), giving the orange and black their first winning record against Southwestern League opposition since the 2008\u201309 season.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

More importantly for Hall\u2019s crew, the victory added another quality win over a 5A foe, as Class 4A No. 3 M-CHS continued to sit in the catbird seat for a home regional site in early March. With the nonconference games in the books, the Panthers (13-0, 2-0 Class 4A\/3A Intermountain League) can now refocus their energy on pursuing the program\u2019s first league title in its 10-year span in the Intermountain League \u2013 a journey that resumes Saturday in Pagosa Springs.<\/p>\n

Durango (4-9, 0-2 Class 6A\/5A SWL) encountered the same turbulent waters every opponent has faced from the Panthers this season \u2013 a brutally efficient defense that averages 16 steals per game. The Panthers\u2019 defense had allowed more than 50 points only once all season, so Demons acting head coach Orlando Griego, filling in for absent DHS leader Alan Batiste, knew his team would have to protect possessions and deliver an exceptional shooting night to keep pace with the hosts.<\/p>\n

Durango scored six of the first eight points, with junior Boaz Zastrocky flashing solid moves around the lane to give the visitors early life.<\/p>\n

However, the Panthers remained nonplussed, turning to an offensive formula that included a heavy dose of their leading scorer. Junior Trey Hall continued his run toward threatening the M-CHS single-season record held by early-2000s standout Ryan Mortensen, surpassing 800 career points while pouring in 23 points \u2013 including a series of electrifying dunks \u2013 to the delight of the partisan crowd [DELETE: as M-CHS]. The home team turned a 6-2 deficit into a 24-12 lead by the end of the first quarter and never looked back.<\/p>\n

\u201cDurango came out hot, so we had to make a few adjustments \u2013 then we were off and running,\u201d said the Panthers head coach.<\/p>\n

\"Durango
Durango sophomore Taj Batiste looks to squeeze between M-CHS sophomore Royce Watts and junior Kyler Wyatt on his way to the basket in a contest between the Panthers and Demons in The Jungle on Thursday night. Erika Alvero\/Special to The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Senior Trace Hartsoe sparked the turnaround with eight of his 12 points during the first-quarter run. While the Demons knocked down several 3-pointers in the second and third quarters, junior Kingston Kerlin and Zastrocky\u2019s team-high 12 points were not enough to seriously threaten the Panthers\u2019 42-25 halftime lead.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrace is capable of getting going at any time,\u201d Hall said. \u201cHe knows how to lead and play in the big moments of big games.\u201d<\/p>\n

Junior Asher Bennetts, who has scored 28 points over his last three games, continued to be a force around the rim as M-CHS controlled the glass. Sophomore Justin Bane provided rebounding support during Bennetts\u2019 brief stints on the bench.<\/p>\n

Entering the contest, one of Durango\u2019s biggest challenges was determining what to take away from the Panthers. In M-CHS\u2019 win over Montrose earlier in the week, all nine players who saw the floor scored, with crisp ball movement breaking the Red Hawks\u2019 trapping attempts. The Panthers followed that performance with eight players scoring against the Demons, using constant cutting action to generate high-percentage looks near the basket.<\/p>\n

Sophomore Royce Watts scored seven points off the bench to lead the reserves, and the Panthers\u2019 defensive pressure never relented, even as Hall rotated freely through his lineup.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen our guys come in off the bench, the defense doesn\u2019t stop \u2013 and it allows us to keep the pressure on,\u201d Hall said. \u201cThe bench players are the key piece in our defensive success.\u201d<\/p>\n

Completing a sweep of the Southwestern League carried special meaning for Hall, who played and began his coaching career against the Western Slope\u2019s largest schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good competition for us, seeing those big kids from these schools, because we know in the state tournament, that\u2019s what we\u2019re going to see,\u201d Hall said.<\/p>\n

Fans wearing orange and black left The Jungle on Friday night smiling, and Hall said their energy helped fuel another Panthers victory.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe atmosphere was electric tonight, that\u2019s what we want to see back in this gym,\u201d Hall said. \u201cWe want to have these crowds here the rest of the way and into the playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both teams return to league play Saturday. M-CHS travels to Pagosa Springs to face the Pirates, while Durango hosts Montrose in another Southwestern League test.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Panthers improve to 13-0 behind Hall\u2019s 23 points, smothering defense<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13846,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[38,39,28,37,36],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-13845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-dolores-high-school","tag-dove-creek-high-school","tag-headlines","tag-mancos-high-school","tag-montezuma-cortez-high-school"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13845"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13845\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20685,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13845\/revisions\/20685"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13845"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=13845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}