Loara Alone in First After El Dorado Falls

Loara’s Nate Von Achen made five late free throws as the Saxons defeated El Dorado, 54-48, Friday at El Dorado to take sole possession of first place in the Empire League.

Van Achen’s free throws capped a impressive comeback for Loara, which trailed almost the entire game before taking a 45-43 lead with 3 minutes 36 seconds to play on a three-pointer by guard Chris Moses.

With Loara leading, 47-43, El Dorado’s Mike Wulff completed a three-point play with 48 seconds left to draw the Golden Hawks, the ninth-ranked team in Orange County, to within 47-46. But Von Achen made four free throws in a nine-second span to seal the win for the Saxons (15-5, 4-0).

“Von Achen played a great game,” Loara Coach Ed Prange said. “This is a big step forward for us.”

The Golden Hawks (17-3, 3-1) led by nine points in the first quarter, using a pressing defense to go on a 17-2 run that erased an early Loara lead.

“I had to call three timeouts in the first few minutes,” said Prange. “We were rushing our shots and needed to slow it down.”

Von Achen made 11 of 12 free throws and finished with 23 points.

David Patten had 15 points and four blocks for El Dorado.