LAKEWOOD — The Lakewood boys basketball team  traveled to King’s on Friday, Jan. 25, and battled to a 47-41 victory.

“We have been working hard all season as individuals, but on Friday we worked hard as a team,” said Head Coach Matt Hart. “And, because of that, we were able to earn a very impressive victory.”

Hart said his team played really well defensively, holding King’s to just 41 points.

On the offensive side of the court, Lakewood was led by sophomore Ryan Alford, who scored 18 points and went 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Sophomore Paul Coleman added six points, and sophomore Hunter Fritz and senior Justin Peterson both scored five points each.

Alford is Lakewood’s leading scorer, averaging 13.7 points per games.

“Ryan has really turned the corner in the last three weeks. We are in the second round of league play where teams now know about him,” said Hart. “He is only a sophomore and usually younger players’ production will do down once defenses start figuring them out. But not Ryan; instead he is playing better and a lot more consistently. His scoring and assists have gone up and his turnovers have gone down. He has really matured as a basketball player over the course of the season.”

The coach also pointed out the stellar play of senior Justin Peterson, who broke Lakewood’s single-season record for rebounds on Jan. 25, after setting Lakewood’s single-game record with 23 rebounds against Marysville Getchell earlier in the season.

Lakewood  hosted Sultan on Jan. 29 but the results were not available as of press time.

The Cougars will travel to Cedarcrest for their final game of the season on Feb. 1.