TJ heads into the playoff scene coming off an 81-61 victory over West on Friday.
Chris Carter shoots the ball from downtown. photo by Kevin Fleming
On the last game of the regular season, TJ broke out of its three game divisional slump and thrashed the West Cowboys 81-61 Friday night at TJ.
Although the victory was not a surprise for most of the TJ faithful, it was certainly an essential game for the Spartans. With the win they clinched the 4A Denver Prep League Title, while getting a little help from Montbello who defeated North 74-72 Friday night. North would have owned the tie-breaker over TJ had they beaten the Warriors. Nonetheless, TJ has gained the momentum needed heading into the playoffs.
“It was good to get back on track. It’s always nice to end the regular season with a win,” said Junior Seborne Harris.
The Cowboys kept the Spartans in check for most of the game behind Junior Point Guard Eric Casterline’s 26 points and superb performance from the free-throw line, making all 13 of his shots from the charity stripe.
During the fourth quarter the Cowboys cut the Spartan lead to as few as 10 points, which was a shock to the many spectators whose eyes were glued to the court where Ray Riley was putting on a jam-fest. TJ pulled away toward the end of the quarter to seal up the 20 point victory.
Jiron McMillion was honored as the only senior on the TJ Hoop Squad before the game, and was graciously given a spot in the starting lineup by usual starter Shane Oliver. McMillion scored 2 points, and was one of the 13 scorers for TJ. The Spartans spread the wealth of points tremendously well, considering a total of 14 players suited up for the season finale. Riley was the high scorer for the Spartans with 19 points.
Next up for TJ are the highly anticipated playoffs in which they will anxiously await for their impending opponent to be announced. The 4A State Playoff Bracket will be released on Sunday, February 22nd and the playoffs will commence on Wednesday, February 25th for the first round.
