(Andre Lyseight/CHSAANow.com)
DENVER – Typically in early December, basketball teams are still finding their rhythm. Wednesday night, it looked like Cherokee Trail might have found it. CHSAANow.com’s No. 10 ranked Cougars beat No. 5 Denver East 85-81 thanks to a strong second half from key players.
Cougars junior pointer guard Jaizec Lottie and senior forward David Thornton dominated the game and brought the team back from being down 19-9 in the first quarter. Thornton finished the game with 30 points and Lottie finished the game with 23 points.
“We played excellent. We played so good,” said Thornton. “When we were down we did not give up. That’s what I love. We just persevere through and through and that’s what I love about this team.”
Like a true matchup between a couple of top-10 teams, this one came down to the final seconds. Cherokee Trail (3-1 overall) led 62-55 to begin the fourth quarter and had to finish strong if they were going to beat the Angels. Denver East (2-2) senior point guard Jack Buckmelter came out strong driving the ball to the basket and getting to the free throw line. Buckmelter hit a big 3-pointer to get score within three points.
Thornton dominated the paint the whole game by fighting for layups and shooting free throws. Denver East 6-foot-8 senior Daytone Jennings was much needed down the stretch facing foul trouble throughout the game fouled out with 3:56 left in the fourth quarter.
Buckmelter and Deron Harrell were keeping them in the game scoring at crucial moments putting the score at 79-77. The game came down to free throws for both teams. With 47 seconds left on the clock Denver East freshman Kwane Marble drove in for an easy layup putting team within just 1 point at 81-80.
Shortly after, Lottie drove the ball down the lane dishing out a nice pass to Thornton for easy layup to extend the lead 83-80.
Buckmelter put the game in his hands drawing a foul, but was only able to hit one of his two free throws to put his team within two points. Lottie had a chance to seal the game with by getting to the charity stripe but also only made one out of two, giving Denver East one last shot to tie the game.
The ball went into the hands Buckmelter, who put up a 3-pointer to even the score, but it wouldn’t fall.
“We gutted it out. We played better. It’s December, both these teams are going to better come January and February,” said Cherokee Trail coach Morgan Gregory. “I’m proud of our guys for gutting it out. We didn’t start very well. We were struggling getting stops with those guys. We just kept making plays and hung in there and kept fighting.”
Any win against Denver East is a good win, but the Cougars know that in order for this team to reach the heights they’re aiming for, they can’t be satisfied.
“There are a lot of things I can improve on,” said Thornton. “I’ve been improving on finishing, especially my free throws. I think I only missed three free throws. Especially last game, I was 15-15. That’s something I needed to improve on and my team need to improve on and we did. We came out here and won.”