Lexus says it build cars with the relentless pursuit of perfection and Aurora Central boys basketball has the Lexus look.

The Trojans are the only undefeated team in Class 5A. They pushed their record to a perfect 25-0 after a 55-41 Great 8 victory over Cherry Creek Saturday at the Denver Coliseum.

The Trojans took command right in the first quarter, using three-pointers from stars Stephen Franklin and Sean Cunningham to take a 10-2 lead.

In the second quarter, the Bruins did most of the things necessary to rally, except make free throws. Creek (17-8) took the ball inside and drew fouls, but missed free throws in two one-and-one situations.

Bruins forward Taylor Montgomery, a 6-7 recruit of Northern Colorado, helped cut the gap to 17-15 with a putback of a Karl Heimbrock miss and a layup off a Heimbrock assist.

"I guess we were letting the shooters get open," Cunningham said. "We were quick, but not fast enough."

Still, some ragged play didn't bother Central coach Bob Caton.

"A game's always peaks and valleys," he said. "We controlled the tempo of the game, so I was happy about that."

Cherry Creek (17-8) did force a change in Central's lineup by pinning four first-half fouls on starting forward Josh Bond, but it might have done the Trojans a favor. Caston Mabin came on to replace bond and scored 10 points, the third-highest total for Central.

The Trojans had defeated Cherry Creek earlier this season, 57-50 at home on December 8, but, last season the Bruins eliminated another undefeated Central team in the tournament.

The difference on Saturday was guard play. The Bruins starting backcourt came up with only three points, while Central received 21 (plus eight rebounds) from Cunningham and five from Davy Johnson.

The Trojans took a 19-15 lead into halftime, but really broke the game open only in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Bruins 20-9 in that period.

"I don't think they're used to that kind of pace," Cunningham said. "The team support we got also was better."

Cherry Creek, seeded third in the Wilson Region, hit its highest performance level in the third quarter. Scott Traina, Ryan Link, Trey Eckloff and Montgomery all hit a pair of field goals. Traina took it out even farther in the final quarter with three three-pointers, but he was the only Bruin to score.

"We executed our game plan, we had them on 'D'," Montgomery said. "We just didn't have the shots fall. Our heart was definitely there."

Heimbrock did a good job defensively on Franklin, holding the Colorado State-bound senior to 11 points, about half his season average.

Once the Trojans pulled ahead, the Bruins were forced to foul and Johnson sank all four of his free throws in the fourth quarter while Cunningham made five of seven. Cunningham also scored a couple of baskets and Brock Veasley also provided another steady ballhandler for Caton.

The Trojans move on to meet Mullen (16-10) in the 5A semifinals next week at the University of Colorado's Coors Events Center.

Cherry Creek 6 9 17 9 -- 41

Aurora Central 10 9 16 20 -- 55

CC — Scott Traina 5 4-5 17, Karl Heimbrock 1 1-3 3, Ryan Link 2 2-3 6, Taylor Montgomery 5 0-1 11, Trey Eckloff 2 0-0 4. Totals 15 7-12 41.

AC — Davy Johnson 0 5-6 5, Sean Cunningham 6 7-10 21, Stephen Franklin 4 1-3 11, Josh Bond 1 0-0 2, Brock Veasley 2 0-1 4, Caston Mabin 3 3-4 10, Joseph Goyer 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 16-24 55.

Three-point goals — CC, Traina 3, Montgomery; AC, Cunningham 2, Franklin 2, Mabin.

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