AURORA | Overland’s visits to Cherokee Trail didn’t go five overtimes like it did last season, the Trailblazers wouldn’t let it.
Looking very much the part of a playoff-ready team with players flourishing in their defined roles, third-ranked Overland mostly cruised to a 73-60 victory over the dangerous Cougars, who had knocked off fourth-ranked Eaglecrest on their home floor just a few days earlier.
Junior De’Ron Davis played his typical role as the fulcrum of the Trailblazers’ offense and defense and finished with a game-high 21 points, including nine in the third quarter when coach Danny Fisher’s team got significant separation. Davis was also credited with 16 rebounds and eight blocked shots to help secure a crucial victory in a place that had been tough on Overland in the past.
“We had to have it,” said Fisher, whose team improved to 17-5 overall and 12-1 in the Centennial League with one game to play. “That third quarter was good for us. We went into halftime up by 10, but it didn’t feel like that. It felt like a much closer game.”
Junior Reggie Gibson added points 14, senior Ryan Swan 13 and senior Austin Conway 12 in a balanced effort for Overland, which all got great energy from junior reserve Alijah Halliburton.
The Trailblazers’ victory — their 11th in a row — should have sewed up one of the four No. 1 seeds for the Class 5A state playoffs, which are seeded on Sunday.
“I think we add our name to the pot of three (with ThunderRidge and Regis Jesuit for the No. 1 overall seed); all of us have two instate losses and we’ve beaten each other,” Fisher said. “I could see us going to the top or staying at No. 3, it could go either way. I’m anxious to see how they handle it.”
Cherokee Trail connected on 9 3-pointers in the game — three by junior David Thornton, who finished with a team-high 15 points — but played from behind nearly the entire game.
Coach Morgan Gregory’s Cougars dropped to 14-8 overall and remain locked in third place in the league standings behind the Trailblazers and Eaglecrest with a 9-4 mark.
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
(3) OVERLAND 73, CHEROKEE TRAIL 60
Score by quarters:
Overland 19 14 21 19 — 73
Cher. Trail 13 10 12 25 — 60
OVERLAND (73)
Reggie Gibson 4 4-9 14, Austin Conway 4 4-7 12, Padiet Wang 0 0-0 0, De’Ron Davis 7 7-8 21, Ryan Swan 6 0-0 13, Alijah Halliburton 4 0-0 8, King Grant-Perry 0 3-4 3, Daniel Lucas 1 0-0 2, Malik Clark 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 18-28 73.
CHEROKEE TRAIL (60)
KJ Sapp 2 0-0 5, David Thornton 5 2-2 15, Jaizec Lottie 1 1-5 3, Ronnie Barfield 1 3-5 5, Izaiah Lottie 2 0-0 6, Drequez Harvey 2 1-2 7, Kameron Brandon 3 3-4 9, Isaiah Gilbert 2 0-0 5, Ammon Johnson 2 0-0 4, Brandon Scott 0 1-2 1. Totals 20 11-20 60.
3-point field goals — Overland (3): Reggie Gibson 2, Ryan Swan; Cherokee Trail (9): David Thornton 3, Drequez Harvey 2, Izaiah Lottie 2, Isaiah Harvey, KJ Sapp. Total fouls — Overland 19, Cherokee Trail 21. Fouled out — Overland: Padiet Wang. Technical fouls — None.
