The Lakewood boys basketball team got their first win of the young season in thrilling fashion Dec. 14 with a league win over the Sultan Turks 78-70. It took bonus basketball to decide the game after everything was tied 64-64 after 32 minutes.
Lakewood staked themselves to an early lead in the first quarter but Sultan came back to tie things up 14-14. The Turks then jumped ahead of the Cougars, leading most of the rest of the game.
Lakewood was without the services of Nathan Hesselman and Fabrice Lays, two costly losses for the young Cougar team. Their chances got even bleaker when guard Terrence Ordonez and forward Max Dragich both got into early foul trouble. The two starters sat on the bench for a long spell in the first half.
Meanwhile Sultans star guard Jordan Nichols was filling up the basket from every angle. The highly recruited Nichols broke down the Cougar defense to the tune of 32 points on the night. But at the end of the game, Nichols watched his efforts go up in smoke as Ordonez stole the ball from Sultans point guard and fed Michael Mauer for a layup to tie the game with 12 seconds remaining.
In the overtime period, Lakewoods defensive trapping forced several Turk turnovers. That proved to be the difference between the teams as the Cougars held on for an eight point win. Billy Rist led Lakewood with 19 points on the night, Ordonez finished with 18 points, five steals, and five assists.