WEST CHESTER TOWNSHIP, Ohio — The Lakota West High School boys basketball team is ranked No. 15 nationally by MaxPreps this week.
The Firebirds (18-1, 13-0 in the Greater Miami Conference), ranked No. 1 in Ohio by MaxPreps, have won five consecutive games.
Lakota West is the only Ohio boys basketball team in the MaxPreps Top 25 national rankings. The Firebirds play host to Colerain Friday night.
Lakota West, which is undefeated against Ohio teams this season, defeated Princeton 58-53 Feb. 6 in front of 7,275 fans at Xavier University’s Cintas Center.
The Firebirds, a Division I state semifinalist in 2025, won that highly-anticipated game last week in a matchup of the state’s top two-ranked teams.
Junior guard Joshua Tyson scored a game-high 19 points in 32 minutes of action as the Firebirds snapped Princeton’s 13-game win streak and took frontrunner status for the Greater Miami Conference title when the regular season concludes later this month.
Junior forward Roman Combs scored 15 points and added seven rebounds and two assists for Lakota West, which was ranked No. 18 nationally last week. Sophomore guard Andre Richardson scored 12 points and had three assists.
“I tell people all the time — they say we’ve got this big three — but we’re really a complete team,” Lakota West coach Kelven Moss said.
“(Junior) Bryce (Curry) sat out the whole third quarter (with foul trouble). We just kept it steady. Everybody was doing their job. Roman stepped up in the second half. I thought he had some nerves early. We’re just a great team and we’re super connected.”
Lakota West has earned a great deal of the spotlight this season. The Firebirds earned a 13-0 record for the first time in program history. Lakota West also earned 13 consecutive wins for the first time in program history. The previous record was 11 consecutive wins during the 1999-2000 season.
The Ohio High School Athletic Association sectional tournament begins Feb. 23.
“Tournament time is going to be fun,” Moss said.
