The Thomas Jefferson boys’ basketball team finished sixth overall out of eight teams in the annual Tip-Off Classic held at ThunderRidge High School.
by Scott Bruskin
photo by Kevin Fleming
The Spartans collected their first win of the season when they defeated the Grandview Wolves by a score of 69-59 on Thursday, December 4th. The key scorer for TJ was Junior Ray Riley who finished with a total of 15 points. Not far behind him were Juniors Chris Carter and Billy Sprague, who scored 12 and 10 points respectively.
The Spartans also got the job done on the glass, as four players grabbed at least seven rebounds each. Carter had nine rebounds, Sprague had eight rebounds, and Juniors Jamel Compton and Shane Oliver each had seven rebounds.
Compton brought energy to the game, racking up eight points, seven rebounds, as well as two steals. Compton’s game was clicking against Grandview, and even recorded an assist, a rare statistic for big men on the high school level.
Grandview, however, had a late charge in the fourth quarter, but clutch free throw shooting was enough to help put the Wolves to sleep.
The Spartans’ next game would not go so well though, as they fell to Chatfield by a score of 78-71. There were a few bright spots for the Spartans, one being Riley going off for 30 points; he converted 11 field goal attempts in the game.
Other scoring leaders were Carter, who finished with 12 points, and Sprague and Kyle Caruthers each had eight points. However, those points didn’t add up to a victory. Chatfield Junior Landon Vermeer went off for 17 points, including three three-point field goals.
“Ray was going offensively. Its fun to see the potential we have if everything is going right. Unfortunately, we did not make enough stops on defense, and that’s what it is going to take to win,” commented Head Coach Grant Laman. The boys will look to get back on the right track on Wednesday, December 10th when they host the Rams of Rampart at 7:00 pm at TJ. This is the Spartans’ first home game and they will be looking for the home-court advantage to which they are so accustomed.
Tip-Off Classic Statistics
| PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | FGM/FGA | FG% | 2PM/2PA | 2P% | 3PM/3PA | 3P% | FTM/FTA | FT% | TO | |
| #11 Ray Riley |
15.7 | 2.7 | 3.3 | 2.3 | 20/45 | 44.4% | 17/28 | 60.7% | 3/17 | 17.6% | 4/13 | 30.8% | 2.3 |
| #25 Chris Carter |
13.7 | 5.7 | .7 | .7 | 13/31 | 41.9% | 6/20 | 30% | 7/12 | 58.3% | 8/12 | 66.7% | 2.3 |
| #20 Billy Sprague |
9.7 | 6.0 | .7 | 1.3 | 6/22 | 27.3% | 6/20 | 30% | 0/2 | 0% | 17/21 | 81% | 1.7 |
| #4 Kyle Caruthers |
6.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 11/20 | 55% | 3/6 | 50% | 5/14 | 35.7% | 0/0 | N/A | .7 |
| #10 Zach Jackson |
5.0 | 1.7 | .3 | .3 | 5/11 | 45.5% | 3/6 | 50% | 1/5 | 20% | 3/7 | 42.9% | 1.7 |
| #32 Jamel Compton | 4.3 | 3.7 | .3 | 1.3 | 4/10 | 40% | 4/10 | 40% | 0/0 | N/A | 5/6 | 83.3% | .7 |
| #1 Deontae Fair | 4.0 | 1.3 | 1.0 | .7 | 2/7 | 28.6% | 2/6 | 33.3% | 0/1 | 0% | 8/11 | 72.7% | 1.0 |
| #3 Shane Oliver |
3.0 | 3.7 | 3.0 | 2.3 | 2/14 | 14.3% | 2/9 | 22.2% | 0/5 | 0% | 5/10 | 50% | 2.7 |
| #23 Seborne Harris |
1.3 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2/6 | 33.3% | 2/6 | 33.3% | 0/0 | N/A | 0/0 | N/A | 0.0 |
| #42 Ian Melnicoe |
.7 | .3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1/1 | 100% | 1/1 | 100% | 0/0 | N/A | 0/0 | N/A | 0.0 |
| #30 Miles McIntosh |
0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | .3 | 0/0 | N/A | 0/0 | N/A | 0/0 | N/A | 0/0 | N/A | 0.0 |
| #5 Jiron McMillon |
0.0 | 0.0 | .3 |
0.0
|
0/0 | N/A | 0/0 | N/A | 0/0 | N/A | 0/0 | N/A | .3 |
