Playoff Hopes Still Alive

After dropping the game against Montbello, TJ Boys’ Basketball runs through West to stay in playoff chase.

Photo by Kiera Classen

On Thursday, February 9th, the Boys’ Hoop Squad lost to Montbello 78-71 in double overtime and gave the Warriors 56 free throws and all five Spartan starters fouled out of the game.

TJ started off strong going into halftime with an eight point lead. TJ dominated inside, and seemed to get every put-back and rebound that fell from the rims. TJ had 37 rebounds, and 10 were recorded by Senior Center Nathan Brewer. The Spartans then began getting into major foul trouble once the second half started. Montbello found themselves at the line multiple times and disrupted the flow of the Spartan offense. TJ scored only seven points coming out of the half, and were only up by one point at the start of the fourth quarter. Both teams had great offensive fourth quarters, and Montbello was able to force overtime (the first time the Spartans have seen overtime this season). TJ and Montbello went step for step with each other, and found themselves tied again at the end of the first overtime.

When the second overtime began, TJ really found themselves in a hole out of which they couldn’t climb. With every starter unable to play in the game, Montbello took over and won in decisive fashion in the second overtime by seven points. Warriors’ players Alzan Williams and Kedrick Stewart both had 20+ points and double digit attempts from the free throw line. TJ fell to 7-12, and has no wins in league play. Spartans’ Head Coach Grant Laman said, “We are tired of losing. Time to turn it on.” Which is exactly what they would do the next night against the West Cowboys.

On Friday, February 10th, TJ played the lowly West Cowboys who were 4-14 going into the game with no wins in league play, and TJ scored the most points of the season with a 91-66 win.

TJ brought a very balanced attack to West with five players in double figure scoring, and 47 rebounds as a team. “Our talent and spirit had never left. We just had to pull together,” said Laman.  TJ dominated the entire game, and had a 17-point lead going into halftime. They hadn’t allowed the Cowboys to think about sneaking back into this game, and made their size advantage very clear early on. TJ kept their spirits up by putting on a show for fans, dunking and shooting three pointers every opportunity they had. Senior spectator Cole Stewart recalls about the game, “SirMichael Boston had the best dunk, by far.” Boston had a break away chance and decided to dunk the ball right over the smaller Cowboys player. It energized the crowd and the team, and the boys rode that energy right to the end of the game.

TJ has to keep winning in order to earn a playoff seed, and the next game is Tuesday, February 14, against Lincoln. TJ will have a big task at hand as Lincoln has a seven-footer manning the middle.