AURORA | Of course Deon Barfield expected teammate Jaizec Lottie to sink a game-tying free throw in the late stages of Cherokee Trail’s battle with Lakewood Friday night, but he had to ready just in case.
Nothing but net on his first try to bring the Cougars within a point, Lottie caught the back of the rim on his second try, but Barfield skied between two taller defenders and tipped home the miss with 10.7 seconds left to give his team a 60-59 advantage that would hold up to the final horn.
Lottie scored a game-high 23 points and Tyson Rodgers and Tyron Patterson added eight apiece as coach Morgan Gregory’s reloading Cherokee Trail held off a veteran Lakewood team to improve to 4-0 on the young season.
A see-saw contest that sped along with few fouls and not a lot of tight defense got to the fourth quarter with the Tigers holding a two-point lead.
Lakewood took several two-point edges, but Lottie tied it twice with baskets and junior Tyson Rodgers also hit a short shot to even the score. A Lottie steal and layup gave the Cougars a brief lead, but Jacob Story (who had a game-high 26 points) tied it up at 57-57 for the Tigers.
Cherokee Trail set up for the potential last shot of the game, but Lakewood got a steal and Story hustled down court for the go-ahead basket with 29 seconds left in regulation.
Lottie drove the baseline and drew a foul to get to the line, sinking the first free throw before missing the second. On the shot, Barfield got into the lane and timed his jump to get him over the 6-7 Story and 6-4 Dallas Bailey for the go-ahead tip-in.
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 60, LAKEWOOD 59
Score by quarters:
Lakewood 14 17 16 12 — 59
Cher. Trail 16 17 12 15 — 60
LAKEWOOD (59)
Dallas Bailey 2 2-2 6, Jacob Storey 13 0-0 26, Brandt Christy 2 2-3 6, Kolton Peterson 6 0-0 13, Ezekiel Sundberg 1 0-0 2, David Persichitte 2 2-2 6, Keenan Roark 0 0-0 0, Nick Pierro 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 6-7 59
CHEROKEE TRAIL (60)
Jaizec Lottie 11 1-5 23, Deon Barfield 2 0-0 4, Tyson Rodgers 3 0-0 8, Kamron Bode 0 2-2 2, Ian Kelly 3 0-1 6, Tyrone Patterson 2 3-3 8, Joe Cox 1 0-0 3, Prince Wilson 2 2-3 6, Joseph Correa 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 8-14 60.
3-point field goals — Lakewood: Kolton Peterson; Cherokee Trail (4): Tyson Rodgers 2, Joe Cox, Tyrone Patterson. Total fouls — Lakewood 14, Cherokee Trail 10. Fouled out — None. Technical fouls — None.
