AURORA | The Centennial League has ways of aging coaches quickly.
Whether it be a five-overtime loss one night or nearly squandering a large lead the next night, Cherokee Trail boys basketball coach Morgan Gregory feels it in his bones.
His young Cougars rebounded from a historic five-overtime loss to Overland with a 72-67 Centennial League victory over Grandview — ranked No. 10 in the latest Associated Press Class 5A poll — Wednesday night, but still managed to vex their coach with some mistakes along the way.
Sophomore David Thornton scored 18 points in the second half and 22 overall to lead the Cougars, who inched closer to .500 at 5-7 and 2-1 in the league standings. Sophomore Ronnie Barfield added 12 and senior Tyler Larkin 10 for Cherokee Trail.
Senior KyRon Allen poured in 20 points to lead coach Gary Childress’ Grandview team, which fell to 8-4 overall and 1-2 in the Centennial League. Reserve Armani Stevenson tallied 10 and seniors Devon Brown and Keanu Flores had nine apiece for the Wolves.
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. Facebook: Aurora Prep Sentinel
CHEROKEE TRAIL 72, (10) GRANDVIEW 67
Score by quarters:
Grandview 6 19 16 26 — 67
Cher. Trail 18 14 21 19 — 72
GRANDVIEW (67)
Jarred Burr 0 0-0 0, KyRon Allen 7 5-5 20, Devon Brown 2 5-6 9, Keanu Flores 2 3-3 9, Irane Sharp 2 0-0 4, Andrew Joiner 3 0-0 7, Armani Stevenson 4 1-1 10, JR Smith 2 4-5 8, Brendan Hays 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 18-20 67.
CHEROKEE TRAIL (72)
Kameron Brandon 1 0-4 3, Tyler Larkin 4 1-1 10, David Thornton 9 4-5 22, Ronnie Barfield 5 1-2 12, Izaiah Lottie 2 3-5 7, Dillon Garcia 3 0-0 7, Evan White 1 0-0 2, Jaizec Lottie 3 1-2 9. Totals 28 10-18 72.
3-point field goals — Grandview (5): Keanu Flores 2, Kyron Allen, Andrew Joiner, Armani Stevenson; Cherokee Trail (6): Jaizec Lottie 2, Ronnie Barfield, Kameron Brandon, Dillon Garcia, Tyler Larkin. Total fouls — Grandview 20, Cherokee Trail 21. Fouled out — Cherokee Trail: Larkin. Technical fouls — None.
