The boys’ basketball team traveled to Aurora Central Tuesday night and won in a nail-biter, defeating the Trojans 74-73.
by Scott Bruskin
Shane Oliver takes care of the ball. photo by Kevin Fleming
The game was tight right out of the shoot, as both teams came out energized.
The Trojans held a lead by three points at the end of the first quarter, but the second was dominated by the Spartans, who outscored the Trojans by a score of 20-14. Junior Ray Riley had a good quarter; as he scored some of his TJ game high 22 points. At the half, the TJ boys’ hoop squad lead by a score of 37-34. The third quarter turned out to be much of the same for the Spartans, who continued to out-score their opponent at a solid rate. The score at the end of the third quarter was 60-51, with TJ in command.
However, the tide started to change in the fourth quarter, when the Trojans began to pick up their play, and slashed the Spartans lead to nothing. Then, with just eight seconds left in the game, Junior Billy Sprague got fouled and was sent to the free throw line. After missing the first attempt, he was able to convert on the second one, giving the Spartans a one point lead with little time remaining. The Trojans failed to score a basket, shooting a three pointer that hit the rim and bounced off as time expired. “Billy shot a clutch free throw that gave us the win. This win was a real confidence booster for this team,” commented Junior Forward Seaborne Harris.
The Spartans will conclude out of league play on Thursday, January 15 when they take on the Westminster Wolves at Westminster at 7:00 p.m. Coming into the game, the Spartans are 9-4, and the Wolves are 2-10.
