The boys’ Hoop Squad defeated the Harrison Panthers 91-59 Saturday afternoon.
Photo by Rebecca Holt
The afternoon affair started off slow as both teams came out a tad sluggish, but TJ began to catch a rhythm and eventually stormed out to take a 24-14 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The boys were sparked by the return of leading scorer Ray Riley, not to mention Senior Guard Deontae Fair who hit two early threes in the first quarter to ignite the Spartan offense. Fair also had a beautiful crossover that netted the Spartans two points.
The Spartans would keep a steady offense the entire game; however, it was the Spartan defense that kept the Panthers within striking distance all the way through halftime, as TJ lead by only 13 at halftime. “We felt like we could have been up at least 20 on them the way our offense played in the first half, but we just could not fully execute on D. We came out in the third ready to put them away,” said Junior Guard Miles McIntosh. And that is just what the boys did as they outscored the Panthers 26-10 in the third quarter, and carried a 74-43 lead into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter was more or less just a drain of the clock with a few fancy highlights including a monster jam by Senior Zach Jackson, and a well executed tip dunk by Spartan Freshman Forward Eric Andres. The final score was TJ 91 Harrison 59.
The boys will next be in action on Tuesday, January 12, when they play host to the Aurora Central Trojans. The game will begin at 7:00 pm.
