Impressive second-half not enough to knock off ThunderRidge, Spartans lose 54-50.
by Jake Hazan
photo by Kevin Fleming
Entering the first round of the Tip-Off Classic Tuesday night, the Spartans hoop squad knew they would need to play to the best of their ability to be successful. The Spartans were slated to take on the ThunderRidge Grizzlies, the 2008 5A state runner-up, at home in front of their devoted fans for the finalé of the night. The Grizzlies even sent out one of their players to croon the national anthem. With all that said, the Spartans never seemed intimidated and almost pulled off a comeback victory, but fell just short losing by a final score of 54-50.
The first-half of play was dominated by Senior ThunderRidge Guard Dave Arnold. Arnold seemed to be unstoppable in the first half, nailing three-pointers and driving to the basket with power, finishing the game with 28 points. By the end of the first-half it seemed as if it was going to be a long night for the Spartans, they headed to the locker room trailing the Grizzlies 33-21.
In the second-half TJ looked more energetic and committed to shutting down Arnold. Junior Kyle Caruthers played excellent defense and slowed down Arnold drastically, which allowed the Big Three and company to get rolling on offense. "We made our adjustments and went to a box-and-one and Kyle played great defense ," said Head Coach Grant Laman. Arnold went scoreless in the 3rd quarter.
Chris Carter had the hot hand for the Spartans, sinking four three-pointers in the game, and Ray Riley contributed with a couple jaw-dropping slams on the fast break. Billy Sprague played a much needed physical game, snagging offensive rebounds and putting them up for points. Sprague tallied 11 points on the night, Carter was the high scorer for TJ with 17 points, and Riley registered six. The game came down to the last minute of play but Arnold came through and made his free-throws late, sealing the victory for the Grizzlies 54-50. TJ outscored ThunderRidge 29-21 in the second half, and showed reason for the Spartan faithful to be excited about this basketball team. "This team should be very fast and energetic which is always fun to watch," Laman said.
TJ will continue on in the Tip-Off Classic against Grandview Thursday, December 4, at 4:10 pm at ThunderRidge High School.
