TRENTON — Juan Sanchez had one wish for Senior Night. “Ever since I’ve been on the varsity team, I haven’t beaten Lawrence,” said Sanchez, now in his third year as a varsity player. “I’m gonna beat them before I leave this school.” The 5-foot-8 guard helped grant that wish for himsel f and six other seniors on the Trenton boys basketball team with 16 points and timely assists as the Tornadoes downed Lawrence, 66-56, in a Wednesday clash between two of the three best teams in the CVC. Aivaye Ingram also starred with 20 points as Trenton (15-6) essentially dominated Lawrence (15-6) from start to finish thanks to its lethal man defense and aggressive offensive rebounding. The Cardinals entered the day with the most power points in the CVC, but the Tornadoes gave themselves a chance to jump from third to first before the CVC Tournament bracket gets seeded Thursday morning. More important, Trenton showed its relentless style of play makes it the favorite to win the conference title. “We definitely had them rattled in the first, second quarter,” Ingram said. “That’s just 94 feet defense right there.” In addition to Trenton forcing eight turnovers and 4-of-13 shooting by Lawrence in the first quarter, Sanchez set the tone with two quick 3-pointers to give the Tornadoes a 10-3 lead less than three minutes into the game. “You heard the crowd when I had the two 3s,” Sanchez said. “It was just momentum in the game shifted. That’s one thing about playing in Tornado Alley.” Trenton’s home gym also erupted when Ingram hustled down the lane and leapt into the air for a putback dunk with 2:13 left in the second quarter, extending Trenton’s lead to 11 points and once again showing that the 6-foot-4 guard is one of the state’s most athletic players. “It helped a lot. It boosted our energy, it boosted everything,” Ingram said. “I really work in the weight room. I do a lot in the weight room. That’s how I got that (athleticism).” Ingram and Sanchez have been Trenton’s dynamic duo all season and were two of five seniors in the starting lineup Wednesday, along with JayDon English-Fulton (18 points), Donald Jackson (four) and Stalin Hernandez. The Tornadoes also honored seniors Malik Fleming and Garmari Davidson in a pregame ceremony. Once the game tipped off, Trenton was ready to clamp down on Lawrence’s array of talented guards. Marvin McNeill ended with 20 points, but the Tornadoes held him to just seven across the second and third quarters. “Just shut him down,” Sanchez said. “Don’t stay too close to his body; he likes to draw fouls. Contest all the shots. We know he likes to get to the fade, and we just wanted to contest. I feel like we did a good job tonight on him. He didn’t really get off a lot.” Elijah Ale was the only Lawrence player to score in the first quarter besides McNeill. Michael Carrick scored 15 of his game-high 21 points in the second half, including a three-point play which cut Lawrence’s deficit to 50-57 with 2:07 remaining, but the Cardinals lacked consistency. Trenton held Lawrence without a 3-pointer until the third quarter and pulled ahead by as many as 15 points in that period. The Tornadoes went backwards at times in the second half because they committed about 13 turnovers as Lawrence’s ramped up its trapping, but as Sanchez noted, “It’s just something we’ve got to work on.” Ultimately, it was another statement win as Trenton has now beaten both Lawrence and Ewing, its top-two CVC competitors, in the regular season by double digits. “Best in the CVC, for sure,” Sanchez said. Now, Trenton has to prove these games weren’t a fluke when the CVC Tournament runs from Feb. 10-21. “It feels really great,” Ingram said. “It puts us high in the tournament. CVC, we’re trying to go far.” LAWRENCE (56) McNeill 7-6-20, Ale 2-0-4, Carrick 7-7-21, Wilson 3-1-7, Cahill 1-0-3, Lafontant 0-1-1. Totals — 20-15-56. TRENTON (66) English-Fulton 8-2-18, Sanchez 6-1-16, Ingram 8-2-20, K. Smith 0-4-4, Jackson 2-0-4, Whitaker 2-0-4. Totals — 26-9-66. Lawrence (15-6) 9 11 17 19 — 56 Trenton (15-6) 19 13 14 20 — 66 3-point goals: Cahill (L), Sanchez 3, Ingram 2 (T). ...read more read less