TJ Basketball Ousted by East

The Spartan Basketball team wins against Kennedy away, but loses against East at home.

Photo by Mia Nogueira

The Spartan Basketball team took on Kennedy High School on Tuesday January 25th with a winning score of 60-55, but lost to East on Thursday January 27th with a final score of 58-45.

In the Kennedy game, the Spartans had a slow start being out-scored by the Commanders in the first quarter 16-9. From this point, the Spartans turned on the jets and propelled themselves to victory, leading in points for the rest of the quarters and finishing the game on top with a final score of 60-55. Eric Andres was again the Spartans’ lead scorer in this game, recording 26 points and dominating in the paint and on the free throw line, going six for 10.

In the East game, the Spartans came prepared for an intense battle with the Angels that has become TJ’s most competitive and back-and-forth rivalry for any sport. The gym was completely packed to the rafters and the atmosphere on the bleachers was indescribable. The team entered the gym to the buzzing sound of TJ chants and charged ahead in the first quarter, riding the fans’ adrenaline and outscoring East 18-11 in the first quarter.

As the boys left the locker room and started the rest of the game, there was an evident momentum shift in the favor of East and the Spartans were left trailing for the rest of the game. The Spartans’ main downfall was their problems with keeping control of the ball, and playing solid defense. East’s full court press defense overwhelmed the Spartans and forced them into many unnecessary turnovers. With the turnovers came frustration and forced forwards Nate Brewer and Ian Melnicoe to sit out for most of the 2nd and 3rd quarters because of foul trouble. “It was frustrating to have so many turnovers, and it made it so we found ourselves on our heels and in defense mode,” said Senior, Melnicoe. At the end of the game, the Spartans were behind in the scoring, losing 58-45.

The Spartans look for some redemption after this loss as they take on conference foe Montbello at Montbello. The game is on Tuesday, February 1st and tip off will be at 7:00 p.m.