(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
AURORA — It was never John Olander’s expectation to have his Eaglecrest Raptors jump out to an undefeated start after 13 games. But if those are the cards he’s been dealt, he’s happy to take them.
After trailing through most of the first half, the CHSAANow.com No. 2 Raptors topped No. 10 Cherokee Trail in a 55-51 thriller that might as well be another ho-hum Wednesday in the Class 5A Centennial League.
“It was huge, we lost this exact game last year,” Olander said. “We had a lead, gave it up and went to overtime. There was a huge crowd and we walked out of here with our heads down. To have this type of atmosphere and have our kids come out and perform in a high stakes game with huge league ramifications, I’m thrilled.”
For the Raptors (13-0 overall, 5-0 5A Centennial League), it was the ultimate definition of a team win. They found themselves down around six points for the bulk of the first and second quarters.
The Cougars (9-4, 3-2) were paced by senior forward David Thornton who scored 15 of his game-high 27 points in the first half.
“He’s played well all season long,” Cherokee Trail coach Morgan Gregory said. “It’s not any surprise. We have to find a way to get him the ball more often. He gets a lot of attention from defenses, but he’s been good for us all year long.”
Trailing 20-14, it was a charge taken by junior forward Nate Bokol that turned the tide for the Raptors. He was able to set his position before Deon Barfield went for the layup, but Barfield soared through the air and his knee caught Bokol right around the eye. He wouldn’t return to the game.
But at that point, Eaglecrest went on an 8-0 run, with every player getting in on the scoring effort. The game went into halftime tied 22-22, with nine different players scoring for the Raptors.
“It’s a big family, we don’t care who scores the most,” Eaglecrest guard Colbey Ross said. “We just want to win. That’s all we do.”
Ross and sophomore Victor Garnes led the Raptors with 12 points on the night. It was a big 3-pointer from Garnes that pushed the Eaglecrest lead to 35-31 in the third quarter and really gave the Raptors as much momentum as anyone was going to take.
Cherokee Trail would continue to battle and a K.J. Sapp 3-pointer cut the Eaglecrest lead to 46-43 and gave the home crowd something to get on its feet for. Jazzed Lottie added a basket to make it a one-point game, but Ross and Garnes would make their free throws down the stretch to clinch the win and keep the Raptors in control of the Centennial League.
“Every game in this league is tough,” Ross said. “We just have to come out and work hard. We have to expect it now. Everyone is going to give us their best shot and we have expect that from here on out.”
Even though they have been on the wrong side of a few games recently, the Cougars have a strong sense of where they are as a team and how close they are to getting over the hump.
“We’re close, we lost to Rangeview by four and we lost to these guys by four,” Gregory said. “A few shots here and there, a few plays here and there, a little bit of focus and we’re not far off. We have to keep working on it.”