AURORA | The Centennial League got a lot more interesting Friday night.
With just a week left in the regular season, the Cherokee Trail boys basketball team muddied the waters a bit at the top of the league standings with a 61-49 road victory over previous league leader and Class 5A No. 4-ranked Eaglecrest.
Sophomore Tyson Rodgers and senior David Thornton scored 17 points apiece and junior Jaizec Lottie added 12 for coach Morgan Gregory’s Cougars, who split with the Raptors and dropped them into a first place tie with Overland. Cherokee Trail (16-5 overall, 9-3 Centennial League) sits in third place just a game out.
Coach John Olander’s Eaglecrest (19-2, 10-2) team got 19 points from junior Colbey Ross, but couldn’t hold a 10-point lead it built late in the first half.
Rodgers — who scored in double figures for the third time in five games — connected on a pair of 3-pointers in the closing stages of the second quarter to pull the Cougars within 31-27 at the break. He hit two more in the third quarter when Cherokee Trail got over the hump and built a four-point lead going into the final quarter.
Thornton went 7-for-8 from the free throw line in the final minutes of the fourth quarter as the Cougars maintained their composure all the way to the final buzzer.
Ross scored eight points in the final period for Eaglecrest, but the Raptors were unable to get enough stops to launch a comeback.
Cherokee Trail pays a visit to Overland — a 60-47 winner over Cherry Creek — on Feb. 17, then welcomes in Arapahoe on Feb. 19 to close the regular season.
Eaglecrest, which saw a two-game lead in the league disappear with losses to Overland and Cherokee Trail plays host to Grandview on Feb. 17 and visits Mullen Feb. 19.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
Cherokee Trail 61, (4) Eaglecrest 49
Score by quarters:
Cher. Trail 15 12 18 16 — 61
Eaglecrest 20 11 10 8 — 49
Cherokee Trail points: Tyson Rodgers 17, David Thornton 17, Jaizec Lottie 12, Ronnie Barfield 8, Deon Barfield 4, Ian Kelly 2, KJ Sapp 1. Eaglecrest points: Colbey Ross 19, Ikenna Ozor 9, Elijah Wilson 8, Victor Garnes 5, Nate Bokol 4, Abanezer Alemneh 2, Joshua Walton 2e
