DURHAM – After a turnover on offense to start the game, Brady Webb of Durham leaped past a Turlock Christian High School player’s pass and went into the hoop to score with his left hand. On the next possession, a senior, Webb received a pass from fellow senior Thomas Hussa and Webb placed it in several tries for his second basket. Durham took an 8-4 lead and the Eagles were forced to call a timeout.
Hussa and Webb helped the Durham boys’ basketball team win their first game at the Herb Jergantz Invitational on Thursday night as the Trojans defeated Turlock Christian 55-37 in their second game under new head coach Matt Stanley.
Stanley is a Chico High graduate and is returning to Butte County after spending the past 14 years as a coach at Foothill College in the Bay Area.
“It’s big for us. It gives us great momentum in our next game,” said Husa. “I give so much credit to my coaches. They’re doing a great job. We’re all really talented players and we’ve got a lot to offer.” We can do a lot on our own, but it is a big deal for us to work together.”
Webb led Durham on Thursday night with 23 points, including 17 in the first half and 11 in the second quarter. Tyler Messina and Brett Butler had nine points each and Hussa had seven points. Durham led 30–14 at halftime, but Turlock Christian started the second half with a 9–0 run in just 2 minutes before Messina drilled a 3-pointer to give Durham a 10-point lead once again. Got it
The victory came after only five drills for the Trojans, who first practiced on 22 November. Durham’s football season ended on 19 November, expanding the basketball team’s roster from three to 11.
“The biggest emphasis is just on getting to know them and building some relationships where we can build some trust so they can really do what you want them to do,” Stanley said. “They’re doing their best and they’re playing with their guts. I think we’re not very polished, we still have a lot of room to improve but that’s why we want to achieve success tonight and Tuesday.” were able to because they were working so hard.
Thursday’s win was Durham’s first win at the annual tournament since 2020, when the majority of the Trojans’ 2020 season were canceled due to the pandemic. Durham played just two games in May 2021 – against Paradise and Las Plumas – when high school games returned in the spring at once and schools were only allowed to play in adjacent counties. Webb, who did not play basketball in 2020 (opting to play football instead) after playing at the university in 2019 as a sophomore, said he missed the game of basketball a lot. Husa said he was “very excited” to be back on his home court in front of his friends and family.
“I felt like we took something away from us last year,” Husa said. “We had such a good team and so many expectations. Bringing this team back here and showing that we could have been as good as last year is just as exciting.”
Durham have now advanced to the semi-finals where they will face Mount Shasta on Friday at 7:30 pm, ahead of Saturday’s championship. Turlock Christian will enter the consolation section of the double elimination tournament. Turlock Christian will face Sutter at 4:30 pm on Friday.
other sports
In other games going on at the Herb Zergetz tournament on Tuesday, Gridley beat Los Molinos 56-38, Argonaut 63-37 and Mount Shasta beat Sutter 60-50. Aaron Kuller led Gridley with 14 points in the first game and Shay Carr added nine. Carson Seaman of Los Molinos had 15 points and Jack Novo had 10 points. In game two Luca Molin led Argonaut with 27 and Anthony Castillo led Corning in the scoring with 10 points.
Gridley will play Argonaut on Friday at 6 pm and Corning will play Los Molinos at 3 pm on Friday.
