Clutch free throws put Cimarron in postseason

Cimarron-Memorial's Ja'Don Brown knew exactly what was at stake Tuesday when he stepped to the free-throw line with 4.1 seconds left and his team trailing 50-49.

The junior guard didn't let the moment get too big.

Amid a flurry of stomps and deafening noises from the opposing sideline, Brown hit two free throws to give the short-handed Spartans a 51-50 road win over Bonanza and the Northwest League's final playoff berth.

"I was just thinking, 'Let me take it easy. No pressure,'" Brown said. "I make free throws all the time. ... I decided to kind of drown out the noise and just focus on knocking them down and bringing my team to a (win)."

Brown, who scored a game-high 22 points, was fouled by Bonanza's John Holden while driving to the hoop.

"Ja'Don has been working hard all year," Cimarron coach Daryl Branham said. "And normally he shoots free throws pretty well. If there was anybody at that point in time I'd want on the line, it would have been him. It was the reason he had the ball at the end right there."

Cimarron (9-12, 2-5), which trailed 48-43 with 5:29 to play, had just taken its first lead of the fourth quarter on a 3-pointer by Quentin Matthews with 55 seconds remaining. But Bonanza's Jamal Logan hit a runner in the lane to make the score 50-49 with 17.5 seconds left.

After Brown hit the go-ahead free throw, Logan took the inbounds pass and drove to the other end of the court before missing a contested 3-pointer at the buzzer for Bonanza (12-13, 1-7).

"We've been through a lot," Brown said. "We've been struggling the whole season. And to even get a spot and sneak in there (to the playoffs), it just feels good. I played terrible last game, and I made up for it."

Demarco Alexander had eight points and 10 rebounds for Cimarron, and KeAnte Huddleston added 12 boards and two blocks for the Spartans, who were without four players because of grade issues, according to Branham.

The Spartans shot 9-for-22 from the free-throw line.

Davian Jordan had 15 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, and John Holden had 10 points and six rebounds for Bonanza.

Contact reporter Ashton Ferguson at aferguson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0430. Follow him on Twitter: @af_ferguson