In another game that went down to the wire, TJ was able to pull out the win against Cherokee Trail, and then beats Grand Junction soundly in semi-final.
Photo by Ed Gloor
In the final ten seconds of the game, Senior Guard Antonio Clark got a mid-court steal and an easy lay-up basket to give TJ the win 51-50 against Cherokee Trail.
“It was a sloppy, sloppy game,” said Head Coach Grant Laman, “But it was just a dog fight that we found a way to win.”
A sloppy game seemed to be an understatement for the team in the first half. They only scored 19 points, and had double-digit turnovers. Senior Guard Amare Williams said, ” We were taking the right shots and getting good looks, but the ball just wouldn’t fall.”
Going into the half TJ was down 21-19 and had to find a way to get more high percentage shots. “The only real adjustment we made at the half was to get the ball inside (the paint),” said Laman. That game plan seemed to pay off as Sophomore Trey Andres, Junior Eric Andres, and Senior Nate Brewer had significantly better offensive second halves.
TJ then played Grand Junction on Friday, December 9th and beat them 58-44.
TJ clearly played the best game of the year against Grand Junction, by cutting down on turnovers and playing a tight zone defense. “The switch to a zone defense worked as (Grand Junction) got cold from the outside,”said Laman. Junction fell behind too far in the second half and had to take over 10 shots from the three-point range. The Spartans held Junction to 16 points or under each quarter, and blocked high percentage shots that Junction took.
TJ’s offense also took off in this game. “We finally played better on offense with a little more movement,” said Laman. Trey Andres led the front court again with seven points, Brewer had five points and rebounds that kept the possession alive, and Eric Andres scored five points with the biggest defensive game. Clark had the biggest offense game of all for the Spartans with twelve points.
TJ plays in the final of the Heritage Tip-Off classic vs. Thunder Ridge on Saturday, December 10th at 3 p.m.
| 2011-2012 Thomas Jefferson Game Schedule | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Varsity Event | Date | Time | Result |
| TJ @ Green Mountain | Monday Dec. 5th | 7:00pm | W TJ-54 Green Mountain-52 |
| TJ @ Heritage HS-Tip-Off Classic vs. Cherokee Trail | Wednesday Dec. 7th | 7:00pm | W TJ-51 Cherokee Trail-50 |
| TJ @ Heritage HS-Tip-Off Classic vs. Grand Junction | Friday Dec. 9th | 7:00 pm | W TJ-58 Grand Junction-44 |
| TJ @ Heritage HS-Tip-Off Classic vs. Thunder Ridge | Saturday Dec. 10th | 3:00 pm | |
| TJ @ Chaparral | Tuesday Dec. 13th | 7:00pm | |
| TJ @ Cherry Creek HS-Holiday Classic vs. Legend | Monday Dec. 19th | 5:00pm | |
| TJ @ Cherry Creek HS-Holiday Classic vs. Arapahoe | Tuesday Dec. 20th | 5:00pm | |
| TJ @ Cherry Creek HS-Holiday Classic vs. Columbine | Wednesday Dec. 21st | 1:30pm | |
| TJ @ Cherry Creek HS-Holiday Classic vs. TBA | Wednesday Dec. 21st | TBA | |
| D’Evelyn @ TJ | Wednesday Jan. 4th | 7:00pm | |
| Rock Canyon @ TJ | Friday Jan. 6th | 7:00pm | |
| Columbine @ TJ | Saturday Jan. 7th | 1:00pm | |
| TJ @ Highlands Ranch | Tuesday Jan. 10th | 7:00pm | |
| Aurora Central @ TJ | Thursday Jan. 12th | 7:00pm | |
| Cherokee Trail @ TJ | Saturday Jan. 14th | 1:00pm | |
| George Washington @ TJ | Friday Jan. 20th | 5:30pm | |
| Kennedy @ TJ | Tuesday Jan. 24th | 7:00pm | |
| TJ @ Denver East | Thursday Jan. 26th | 5:30pm | |
| Denver South @ TJ | Friday Feb. 3rd | 5:30pm | |
| Montbello @ TJ | Thursday Feb. 9th | 7:00pm | |
| TJ @ Denver West | Friday Feb. 10th | 5:30pm | |
| TJ @ Lincoln | Tuesday Feb. 14th | 7:00pm | |
| Denver North @ TJ | Friday Feb. 17th | 5:30pm | |
