Basketball Game Preview: Montrose Red Hawks vs. Durango Demons

The Montrose Red Hawks will head out on the road to square off against the Durango Demons at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Montrose's defense has only allowed 28.4 points per game this season, so Durango's offense will have their work cut out for them.

Last Friday, Montrose didn't have quite enough to beat Palisade and fell 39-37.

Maggie Legg

Points

02/07/25 @ Palisade	19
02/04/25 vs Grand Junction Central	15
01/24/25 vs Durango	12
01/21/25 vs Montezuma-Cortez	8
01/16/25 @ Grand Junction Central	10
+ 9 more games

Despite the defeat, Montrose had strong showings from Maggie Legg, who went 7 of 13 en route to 19 points and three steals, and Mayce Oberg, who posted 13 points. That's the most points Legg has posted since back in December of 2024.

Meanwhile, Durango entered their tilt with Palisade on Saturday with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. They came out on top against the Bulldogs by a score of 36-28. Given the Demons' advantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 33rd, while the Bulldogs are ranked 97th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Durango's win came from a few key players Montrose will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Claire Goodwin, who earned 14 points and three steals. She is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last three games she's played. Mariah Maestas was another key player, putting up seven points along with six rebounds and five assists.

Durango's record is now 16-4. As for Montrose, their loss dropped their record down to 17-3.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Montrose has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 26.2 boards per game. However, it's not like Durango struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28.2 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Montrose didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Durango in their previous meeting back in January, but they still walked away with a 43-38 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Montrose since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.