Sprague’s 19 points powers TJ past Golden in 3rd place game.
by Jake Hazan
photo by Kevin Fleming
After a the tough Tip-Off Classic Tournament at ThunderRidge High School, the Spartans Hoop Squad wasted no time in getting back into tournament mode.
TJ participated in the Paul Davis Classic at Green Mountain High School, and started off by dominating the Arvada West Wildcats with a score of 64-42. TJ was clearly the superior squad, and Arvada West never threatened the Spartan lead. Ray Riley had 19 points and Chris Carter followed with 14.
The next day the Spartans trekked back to Green Mountain to face off against the Mountain Vista Golden Eagles. TJ played a strong game but poor free throw shooting proved to be their Achilles Heel while losing that contest 62-54. The Spartans did put up a fight with late three-pointers by Sophomore Miles McIntosh, Junior Kyle Caruthers, Riley, and Carter, but it wasn’t enough for a victory. Riley finished the game with 20 and Billy Sprague scored 14.
On Saturday afternoon TJ entered Green Mountain focused on claiming 3rd place, and the Spartans did just that behind the spectacular performance from Sprague, who tallied 19 points in the 85-73 Spartan victory.
“Ray hit me with some assists and I just put it in the hoop. The intense defense and having fun made it all easy,” said Sprague.
Another highlight from the Spartan conquest was that 10 different players scored at least one point, showing the depth of the varsity team.
The Spartans will take on Rock Canyon tonight, December 15, 2008 at Rock Canyon at 7:00 pm. “As long we played as well as we did Friday it should be total domination,” proclaimed Sprague.
