TJ Beat by Rival East, Preparing for South

In an agonizing defeat to East, the Boys’ Hoop Squad is ready for the Rebels on their home court.

Photo by Ed Gloor

In a 89-65 lost to Denver East, TJ was unable to overcome a great East frontline and guard Dominique Collier who scored 12 points and had two assists.

“We played well against East actually,” said Head Coach Grant Laman, “They went up 8-0 in the beginning of the game and then at the end of the first half we were only down by eight. We went blow for blow in the middle part of the game.” TJ actually outscored East by three points in the second quarter to give themselves some momentum heading into the locker room for the half. TJ came out strong in the third quarter had a manageable 11 point defect going into the fourth quarter. “We competed with them. They put together a great fourth quarter and that’s part of the reason why we lost by so much. We also got into foul trouble, which seems to be a pattern all this year,” said Laman.

TJ has moved past East and looks towards South on Friday, February 3rd. “I took a look at South the other night and they commit to a full court press, and handle it well. We’ll have to find a way to beat it,” said Laman. South also has a big man in the middle who can terrorize any team. “He’s a rebounding and shot blocking guy who can take over a game. Nate (Brewer), Eric (Andres), and Trey (Andres) are going to have to bottle him up.”

Wins are a premium this time of year as TJ is looking for one final push to make the playoffs. “We’ll need to take care of business and get a couple more wins to make the playoffs,” said Laman.