BG Men’s Varsity Basketball took down Durango High School in a nail biting win on February 3rd, and they became the top team in the state once again.

On February 3rd, the Gaels won over the Trailblazers 68-64. The anticipation before the game was through the roof as the Gaels needed a bounce-back win after a tough loss to Liberty the week prior.

Assistant Coach Jimmy Gleich shares that the game plan was to “play really aggressive defense and not let them get comfortable, while also limiting turnovers and protecting the ball.” Gleich adds that the team used the home advantage “to play fast and uptempo at home cause we know our crowd will help us.”

Thankfully, all went according to plan for the Gaels, who now currently possess the number one seed for playoffs.

Although the score displays a nail-scratching win, Gleich reassures everyone that “ the game was never that close, they got a few cheap ones at the end of the game when we were backing off.”

Junior Guard Jason Richardson seconds that with “we could have executed on defense more at the end of the game, but we got the win.”

Richardson came off the bench with 14 points, two free throws in the last minutes to secure the win. Durango’s biggest threat of the night was Freshman Forward, Jaxon Richardson who stood out with tremendous defense and critical rebounds. Richardson’s performance perfectly reflected the Gaels game plan to keep the pressure on with polished protection of the basketball. With one week remaining of the 2023 season, the Gaels will look to keep the energy high.

Jason Richardson looks back on the Durango game as a”confidence booster.”

Even with the number one seed, Gleich predicts that they will not see the last of Durango or even Liberty, of which he says they could possibly see more than once coming up.

Gleich concludes with, “If we are to win state this year, it will definitely be a great feat because the competition this year is incredible.”

As it stands for the time being, the Gaels are scheduled to host their first playoff game on Valentine’s Day as the number one seed.

Richardson says that, “the road for us right now is to take it one game at a time and try to get back to the state championship.”