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After losing by the score of 74-34 to Lakota East last season, Lakota West has defeated its school district rival twice this winter in two closely contested basketball games. The latest victory for the Firebirds took place Tuesday when they outscored Lakota East 30-17 in the second half en route to a 57-46 win.

Leading the second half surge was junior guard Ali Barnes, who sparked a 14-3 Lakota West scoring run in the fourth quarter. During the scoring run, Barnes scored six of his team-leading 14 points.

Barnes’ backcourt teammates, sophomores Tyler Williams and Malik Grove turned in key performances in the win. Williams, who made a three pointer to force the final lead change in the fourth quarter, finished with 11 points. Grove, who has playing well on the junior varsity level recently, scored seven points and led the team in rebounding with seven boards in limited playing time.

For Lakota East, junior Robbie Harpring led all scorers with 15 points. He also had six rebounds. Harpring’s freshman teammate, forward Myo Baxter, finished with a career high 14 points in the loss.

The win puts Lakota West (12-6 overall, 9-3 in the Greater Miami Conference) in a two-way tie for second place in the GMC standings. Meanwhile, Lakota East (6-12 overall, 3-9 in the GMC) is tied for seventh place out of 10 teams in the GMC.

Lakota West, which has won four games in a row, will play at Sycamore (6-12 overall, 2-10 in the GMC) at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Also in action at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Lakota East will host Oak Hills (7-10 overall, 5-7 in the GMC).

Lakota West 57, Lakota East 47

Lakota East (6-12, 3-9 in the GMC) – Emrick 2 1 5, Harpring 6 1 15, Lowry 3 0 6, Baxter 6 2 14, Bah 1 0 2, Panzeca 1 2 4. Totals 19 6 46.

Lakota West (12-6, 9-3 in the GMC) – Blue 2 1 5, Barnes 5 4 14, Stalker 2 0 4, Williams 4 2 11, Boykins 2 3 7, Ross 3 1 7, Thomas 1 0 2, Grove 3 0 7. Totals 22 11 57.

Halftime: Lakota East 29-27. 3-pointers: LE 2 (Harpring 2), LW 2 (Williams, Grove).

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Tags: Tags: Ali Barnes, Lakota East, Lakota East basketball, Lakota East Sports, Lakota West, Lakota West basketball, Lakota West sports, Malik Grove, Malik Grove Lakota West, Myo Baxter, Rob Harpring, Robbie Harpring, Tyler Williams, Tyler Williams Lakota West

For the second straight Friday, Lakota West won a close game against a Greater Miami Conference opponent. This time, the Firebirds blew a 12-point lead in the second half only to go onto a 77-71 overtime win against Colerain.

Last Friday, Lakota West handed Middletown its first conference loss of the season when it won by the score of 56-53.

In the overtime win against Colerain, junior Monty Boykins recorded a season high 26 points and pulled down a career high 15 rebounds for Lakota West. Teammates, sophomore Tyler Williams added 14 points and junior Ali Barnes finished with 20 points.

Senior Elisha Campbell led Colerain with 21 points. His teammates, juniors C.J. Reed and Milton Davis each scored 15 points in the loss.

In its next game, Lakota West will visit Oak Hills (7-7 overall, 5-4 in the Greater Miami Conference) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Colerain will also be in action at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday when it hosts Mason (13-2 overall, 7-2 in the GMC).

Lakota West 77, Colerain 71 OT

Colerain (7-7, 2-7 in the GMC) – Porter 1 0 3, Reed 7 1 15, Campbell 9 2 21, Irby 1 1 4, Davis 4 6 15, Walters 5 2 13. Totals 27 12 71.

Lakota West (9-6, 6-3 in the GMC) – Thomas 1 2 4, Barnes 7 4 20, Stalker 3 0 6, Williams 3 6 14, Martin 2 3 7, Boykins 8 8 26. Totals 24 23 77.

Halftime: Lakota West 32-24. 3-Pointers: L 6 (Barnes 2, Williams 2, Boykins 2); C 5 (Porter, Campbell, Irby, Davis, Walters).

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Tags: Tags: Ali Barnes, C.J. Reeds, Colerain basketball, Elisha Campbell, Lakota West, Lakota West basketball, Lakota West sports, Milton Davis, Monty Boykins, Monty Boykins Lakota West, Tyler Williams, Tyler Williams Lakota West

With one of its top scorers stuck on the bench, Fairfield led by senior Keon Benjamin defeated Lakota West by the score of 70-59 in a battle of Greater Miami Conference second place teams Tuesday.

Benjamin knocked down four 3-pointers and scored a career high 24 points, while Fairfield’s second-leading scorer Brandon Murphy had to sit out after recording two technical fouls in the Indians’ 47-43 win against Oak Hills Friday.

“We say it all the time, ‘next guy in has to play,’” Fairfield head coach Tim Austing said. “It is part of the season, guys will go down with injuries or get in foul trouble. You just have to move on.”

“Keon creates a difficult matchup because it makes them cover a 3-point shooter with a center. It only works if you can really shoot it and Keon can really shoot it.”

The Firebirds, who were coming off a 56-53 upset win against Middletown Friday, led the game 20-16 at the end of the first quarter. Junior shooting guard Ali Barnes was perfect in the quarter, going 3-for-3 from the floor and was 1-for-1 at the free-throw line.

Benjamin, however, would knock down a 3-pointer during a 9-0 Fairfield scoring run to begin the second frame. After a pair of free throws by Benjamin, Fairfield increased its lead to 11 points with 2:03 left in the third quarter.

Lakota West quickly cut the lead to three after going on an 8-0 run of its own, capped off by an old fashioned 3-point play by Barnes.

The comeback attempt was eventually spoiled when Benjamin made his fourth 3-pointer of the game, giving Fairfield a 54-47 with 3:55 left in the game.

“I was just dialed in,” Benjamin said. “We have a little rivalry with them – they don’t like us, we don’t like them. That is what really gave me my motivation.”

Along with Benjamin, Fairfield was able to hang onto the victory thanks to making 28 of its 34 free throws. Combining to make 17 of those shots from the foul stripe, senior guards Kyle Smith and Jeff Woods finished with 16 and 19 points, respectively.

“That had to be our best free-throw shooting performance all season,” Benjamin said. “We have just been focusing in practice, shooting many more free throws than we normally have. Especially this week because we knew we were going to get fouled.”

Meanwhile, Lakota West had three players score in double figures including junior Monty Boykins (18 points), sophomore Tyler Williams (14 points) and Barnes (13 points).

Another bright spot for the Firebirds was the play of sophomore Tyler Bowling. The 6-foot-7 center started his first game of the season and scored 8 points before fouling out in 13 minutes of playing time.

“To sum it up, the better team won the game” Lakota West head coach Sean Van Winkle said. “It is as simple as that. The team that played good team defense won the game. Hopefully, we can get to that point before the season is out.”

Fairfield 70, Lakota West 59

Fairfield (12-2, 6-2 in the GMC): Turner 2 3 7, Barlow 0 2 2, Fleming 1 0 2, Smith 5 4 16, Woods 3 13 19, Benjamin 7 6 24. Totals 18 28 70.

Lakota West (8-6, 5-3 in the GMC): Bowling 4 0 8, Martin 1 0 2, Blue 2 0 4, Barnes 5 1 13, Williams 5 2 14, Boykins 6 3 18. Totals 23 6 59.

Halftime score: 32-27 Fairfield. 3-pointers: F 6 (Smith 2, Benjamin 4); LW 7 (Barnes 2, Williams 2, Boykins 3)

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Tags: Tags: Ali Barnes, Brandon Murphy, Brandon Murphy Fairfield, Fairfield basketball, Keon Benjamin, Lakota West, Lakota West basketball, Lakota West sports, Monty Boykins, Monty Boykins Lakota West, Sean Van Winkle, Sean Van Winkle Lakota West, Tim Austing, Tyler Bowling, Tyler Williams, Tyler Williams Lakota West

Junior Monty Boykins scored a season high 24 points and made a pair of key free throws in the final seconds as Lakota West defeated Middletown by the score of 56-53 Friday. The loss was the Middies first against a Greater Miami Conference opponent this season.

After Boykins converted two free throw attempts with 18 seconds remaining, Middletown was able to get off a three-point shot before the buzzer. The attempt resulted in an air ball.

Sophomore point guard Tyler Williams (13 points) and junior Ali Barnes (10 points) also scored in double figures for Lakota West.

Senior Geovonie McKnight (19 points) and Vincent Edwards (16 points, 10 rebounds) led Middletown.

The loss creates a tie for first place in the GMC between Middletown and Mason (12-1 overall, 6-1 in the GMC). Lakota West is one game behind and tied with Fairfield (11-2 overall, 5-2 in the GMC).

The Firebirds are scheduled to host Fairfield at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, while Middletown will visit Lakota East (5-8 overall, 2-5 in the GMC) at the same time Tuesday.

Lakota West 56, Middletown 53

Lakota West (8-5, 5-2 in the GMC) – Blue 2 1 5, Barnes 4 1 10, Williams 3 6 13, Boykins 6 10 24, Bowling 1 0 2, Stalker 0 2 2. Totals 16 20 56.

Middletown (9-4, 6-1 in the GMC) – Edwards 1 0 2, Edwards 6 3 16, Sorrell 4 0 8, Marshall 3 2 8, McKnight 6 5 19. Totals 20 10 53.

Halftime: Middletown 31-28. 3-pointers: LW 4 (Barnes, Williams, Boykins 2); M 3 (Edwards, McKnight 2).

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Tags: Tags: Ali Barnes, Geovonie McKnight, Lakota West, Lakota West basketball, Lakota West sports, Middletown basketball, Monty Boykins, Monty Boykins Lakota West, Tyler Williams, Tyler Williams Lakota West, Vincent Edwards

Lakota West battled injuries and couldn’t finish off its comeback attempt against Princeton, falling by the score of 56-50 Friday.

The Firebirds had trailed Princeton 49-48 with 55 seconds to play. The Vikings, however, converted 5-of-6 free throws in the last minute to hold on to the win.

Senior De’Arius Young (6-foot-7, 280 pounds) led Princeton with 15 points and 7 rebounds.

Meanwhile, Lakota West senior Jackson Blue set a Lakota school district single game record with 8 blocks. According to WestFirebirds.com, the previous record was 7 set by Josh Chichester during the 2003-04 season.

The Firebirds also received strong performances by junior Monty Boykins (13 points, 11 rebounds), junior Ali Barnes (13 points) and sophomore Tyler Williams (11 points, 6 rebounds).

Due to injury, Lakota West took the court without senior forward Kayaune Ross. Furthermore, Barnes was injured during the game.

Next up for the Firebirds is a matchup against Dixie Heights (10-5 overall) in the Bluegrass-Buckeye Classic at the Bank of Kentucky Center (Northern Kentucky University) at 7:45 p.m. Saturday. Princeton, on the other hand, is not scheduled to play another game until next Friday when it will host Hamilton (3-8 overall, 1-5 in the GMC) at 7:30 p.m.

Princeton 56, Lakota West 50

Lakota West (7-4, 4-2 in the GMC) – Blue 1 2 5, Barnes 5 2 13, Stalker 1 0 2, Williams 3 4 11, Boykins 5 2 13, Thomas 0 2 2, Moo Young 1 0 2, Bengal 1 0 2.

Princeton (8-3, 3-3 in the GMC) – Jordan 2 5 9, Tivis 2 0 4, Isham 4 0 8, McAvinchey 2 1 5, Young 5 5 15, Pritchett 1 0 2, McGill 3 0 7, Watkins 1 0 2, Lowmeyer 1 2 4.

Halftime: Princeton 28-24. 3-pointers: L 4 (Barnes, Boykins, Blue, Williams); P 1 (McGill).

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Tags: Tags: Ali Barnes, De’Arius Young, Josh Chichester, Josh Chichester Louisville, Kayaune Ross, Lakota West, Lakota West basketball, Lakota West sports, Monty Boykins, Monty Boykins Lakota West, Princeton basketball, Tyler Williams, Tyler Williams Lakota West

Lakota West, which lost two of its three games at the Republic Bank Holiday Classic in Lexington (Ky.) last week, remained perfect against Greater Miami Conference opponents after defeating Hamilton on the road by the score of 60-46 Tuesday.

The win sets up a big game for the Firebirds (6-2 overall, 4-0 in the GMC) at 7:30 p.m. Friday, when they will host Mason (8-1 overall, 3-1 in the GMC).

In Tuesday’s win against Hamilton, juniors Ali Barnes and Monty Boykins each scored 15 points for the Firebirds. Senior forward Kayaune Ross and sophomore point guard Tyler Williams each added 8 points in the win.

Hamilton 6-foot-8 senior Torrell Sutton led all players with 18 points and 12 rebounds in the loss.

After the upcoming Mason game, Lakota West will play at Elder (1-6 overall, 0-2 in the Greater Catholic League) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

Lakota West 60, Hamilton 46

Lakota West (6-2, 4-0 in the GMC) – Ross 4 0 8, Blue 3 3 9, Barnes 6 1 15, Stalker 1 0 2, Williams 3 2 8, Boykins 6 2 15, Grove 1 0 3. Totals 24 8 60.

Hamilton (2-6, 0-4 in the GMC) – Boyd 2 1 5, Bailey 3 0 7, Jones 2 1 6, Sims 3 0 7, Oliver 1 1 3, Sutton 8 2 18. Totals 19 5 46.

Halftime: Lakota West 26-22. 3-pointers: L 4 (Barnes 2, Boykins, Grove); H 3 (Bailey, Sims, Jones).

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Tags: Tags: Ali Barnes, Kayaune Ross, Lakota West, Lakota West athletics, Lakota West basketball, Lakota West High School, Lakota West sports, Monty Boykins, Monty Boykins Lakota West, Torrell Sutton, Tyler Williams

Lakota West, ranked No. 10 in The Enquirer Division I coaches’ poll, rebounded from its first loss of the season by outscoring Pulaski County 14-5 in overtime to earn a 79-70 victory at the Republic Bank Holiday Classic in Lexington.

The Firebirds, which lost by 13 points to Louisville Trinity on Wednesday night, were paced by a season-high 23 points from junior guard Ali Barnes.

Pulaski County, which led 35-34 at halftime, missed a potential game-winning jumper with seconds remaining in regulation to force the game into overtime. Pulaski County connected on 13 3-point field goals, including six from leading scorer Taylor Gover, who finished with 23 points.

Lakota West will play Louisville Moore today at 3:30 p.m. in the fifth-place game.

Lakota West 79, Pulaski County 70 (OT)

Lakota West (5-1, 3-0 in GMC) – Williams 5 2 14, Boykins 4 7 15, Grove 1 0 2, Barnes 8 2 23, Ross 5 0 10, Blue 2 2 6, Stalker 2 3 7, Hicks 1 0 2. Totals: 28 16 79.

Pulaski Co. (7-7) – Johnson 3 0 7, Goins 2 0 5, Gover 6 5 23, Smith 5 1 15, Burton 1 0 2, Laign 3 7 13, Ross 1 2 5. Totals: 21 15 70.

Halftime: Pulaski Co. 35-34. 3-pointers: L 7 (Barnes 5, Williams 2); P 13 (Gover 6, Smith 4, Johnson, Goins, Ross).

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Tags: Tags: Ali Barnes, Lakota West, Lakota West athletics, Lakota West basketball, Lakota West High School, Lakota West sports, Monty Boykins, Monty Boykins Lakota West

The Lakota West boys’ basketball team won its second straight game against a Greater Miami Conference opponent when it defeated Sycamore by the score of 59-53 Friday.

Junior Monty Boykins, who finished with a team high 15 points, led the Firebirds. Teammates senior Kayaune Ross (14 points, 15 rebounds) and junior Ali Barnes (14 points, 3 assistss) combined to score 28 points.

Meanwhile, 6-foot-6 260-pound A.J. Williams, who is committed to play football at Michigan, finished with 17 points and 9 rebounds for Sycamore in the loss.

Next up for the Firebirds (2-0 overall, 2-0 in the GMC) is a road contest at rival Lakota East (1-2 overall, 0-2 in the GMC). Sycamore (1-3 overall, 0-2 in the GMC) will also play Tuesday, visiting Colerain (2-2 overall, 0-2 in the GMC) at 7:30 p.m.

Box score – Lakota West 59, Sycamore 53

Sycamore (1-3, 0-2 GMC) – Gruden 2 4 8, Hill 1 2 5, Farquhar 1 0 2, Brown 3 4 10, Morgan 4 3 11, Williams 8 1 17. Totals: 19 14 53.
Lakota West (2-0, 2-0 GMC) – Ross 4 4 14, Blue 2 0 4, Barnes 6 1 14, Stalker 1 0 2, Williams 1 3 6, Moo Young 0 2 2, Boykins 5 4 15, Grove 1 0 2. Totals: 20 14 59.

Halftime score: Lakota West 26-22. 3-pointers: S 1 (Hill); LW 5 (Ross 2, Barnes, Williams, Boykins).

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Tags: Tags: A.J. Williams, Ali Barnes, Kayaune Ross, Lakota West, Lakota West football, Lakota West sports, Monty Boykins, Monty Boykins Lakota West, Sycamore basketball

Oak Hills erased a 19-point second half deficit, but came up short at the buzzer losing 56-47 to Lakota West Tuesday.

After leading Lakota West in scoring down the stretch last season, junior guard Ali Barnes waited until the final minutes of the season opener to get in the scoring column.

With the score tied 42-42 with three minutes to play, Barnes drilled a three pointer. He would later score on a lay up and make two free throws, as the Firebirds ended the game on a 14-5 run.

“When I took the three in the corner it was a little nerve racking. It was my first jumper of the season and it was when the game was tied, they were coming back and the crowd was out of it,” Barnes said.

“It felt good. It was a big shot to make and I just knocked it down.”

It appeared that Firebirds wouldn’t need any late-game heroics after jumping out to 33-14 lead in the third quarter.

Lakota West started to accumulate its big lead when 6-foot-4 senior Kayaune Ross scored 12 first-half points off the bench.

Ross, who entered the game without scoring more than two points in a varsity game, also finished with four rebounds.

Feeding off the energy in the first half, Lakota West began the second half on a 7-0 run.

Battling back, the Highlanders cut the Firebirds’ lead to 38-31 after three-point field goals from seniors Ben Laumann and Jack Pflum late in the third quarter. (more…)

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Tags: Tags: Ali Barnes, Ben Laumann, Jack Pflum, Kayaune Ross, Lakota West, Lakota West basketball, Lakota West sports, Lakota West sports photos, Mike Price, Monty Boykins, Oak Hills basketball, Ross, Sean Van Winkle, Sean Van Winkle Lakota West, Tyler Walter, West Chester photos

The Lakota West boys’ basketball team is hoping to bounce back from its first losing season in school history with a group that head coach Sean Van Winkle describes as “young, but experienced.”

“We have a good team,” Van Winkle said. “We are not just going to depend on one single person to do the scoring or the rebounding or the passing. We have a bunch of guys that we feel are decent players and hopefully can carry the load.”

Van Winkle does return 6-foot-4 junior Monty Boykins, who led Lakota West in scoring last season with 12.5 points per game.

“As a team, I believe we are a lot further along than we were last year,” said Boykins, who has collegiate offers from Miami, Toledo, James Madison, Eastern Michigan and Kennesaw State. “We are playing really hard on defense. We are getting better at playing team defense and offense.

“I just want to end the season on a win. I honestly feel that we can make a deep run in the playoffs.”

Besides Boykins, Lakota West returns starting guards junior Ali Barnes and sophomore Tyler Williams, as well as starting forward senior Jackson Blue.

Williams, who like Boykins has earned the attention of the college scouts, averaged 7.1 points per game last season.

“Tyler is very confident this year,” Van Winkle said. “He is one of the best overall guards in the city at his age. He can do a lot of things with the ball and play great defense … we are looking for him to have a really good year.”

Backing up Barnes, who averaged 8.4 points per game, and Williams will be newcomer sophomore Malik Grove.

Grove, who has impressed his coach and his new teammates on the basketball court, actually quit the bowling team this winter after being named the Greater Miami Conference Athlete of Year and rolling a perfect game in the sport as a freshman.

“Malik Grove has been a real surprise. Quite honestly, he is just a heady player,” Van Winkle said.

“He just knows how to play, he understands the game and he is just deceivingly good.”

Other newcomers who are expected to make an impact this season include 6-foot-7 sophomore Tyler Bowling and 210-pound senior Cole Stalker, who sat out last season after transferring from Ross.

“Our team just has a lot of heart this year,” Boykins said. “We play so hard every possession and that is going to take us a long way especially when we have guys coming off the bench who can contribute.”

Lakota West will tip off its season at home against Oak Hills at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 6.

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Tags: Tags: Ali Barnes, Jackson Blue, Lakota West, Lakota West basketball, Lakota West sports, Malik Grove, Monty Boykins, offer, ohio basketball recruiting, Ohio High School sports recruiting, Ohio preps recruiting, Ohio sports recruiting, Tyler Williams