Durango eyes revenge tonight vs. Cheyenne

James Yodice

Thursday, Jan. 30, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

The element of surprise may no longer be a part of Cheyenne's appeal, but that shouldn't deter from tonight's boys' basketball battle between the seventh-ranked Desert Shields and second-ranked Durango.

Tipoff in the Trailblazers' gym is 6:30 p.m.

Cheyenne surprised the defending state champions 62-54 on Jan. 9 at Cheyenne. The teams share second place in the Sunset Division with 6-2 records; Bishop Gorman leads at 7-1.

"My guys are looking forward to the challenge of stepping up," Cheyenne first-year coach Larry Johnson says. "I think we match up pretty well."

Both teams are hitting their stride. Durango has won four straight in the division, same as the Desert Shields.

As is usually the case, stopping the Trailblazers hinges on Cheyenne's ability to slow down Durango's explosive backcourt of Thomas McTyer and Steve Simister, who missed the Jan. 9 game. The Desert Shields handled the problem earlier by dominating Durango inside and slowing the game's pace.

"They got the loose balls, they played harder and they were better on defense," Durango coach Al LaRocque says. "But we talked about this (Wednesday). The great thing about high school basketball is you get to redeem yourself."

The Desert Shields (14-8) are led by 6-foot-7 post player Jason Schmidt, plus forwards Marcus Webb at 6-3 and 6-4 Corey White. With Durango's biggest player -- 6-7 Tyler Kidd -- moved out to a wing because a back injury is limiting his usefulness inside, Cheyenne may be able to maneuver in the paint more freely.

"It's our chance," says LaRocque, echoing Johnson's sentiments, "to step it up."

The teams moved this game up from Friday night to give Durango a short break before the Trailblazers head to California for a game Saturday night.

Durango meets Santa Margarita, Calif., from the Orange County area, at 9:30 p.m. Saturday at the Nike Extravaganza in Irvine.