• Home
• Infinite Campus
• Contact
• TJ Faculty
• Calendar
• Alumni
• Partners
  • 2008 After Prom Sponsors
• Advertise

Subscribe

Boys End Run at Sweet 16

TJ loses to Widefield 84-69 on Friday night to close season.
by Scott Bruskin
photo by Kevin Fleming

    TJ could not achieve victory on Friday night, losing to the Gladiators of Widefield by a final score of 84-69.
    Widefield opened the game with intense energy, leading by a score of 21-14 at the end of the first quarter. The Spartans could not catch up to the Gladiators as their scoring continued. “We fell behind early.  It's tough to come back on them because of their style of play,” explained Varsity Head Coach Grant Laman.  TJ was down by 14 points at halftime (40-26).
    Lead by Dion Vaughn who scored an impressive 33 points against the Spartans, the Gladiators had control of the game and never relinquished the lead.  Vaughn also recorded 25 points in his first match-up against TJ. The Gladiators had three players who scored 19 points or more, and their prolific offense was tough for the Spartans to contain. “We could not keep them from getting offensive rebounds,” Laman said.
    However, TJ did battle to the end, and were lead by Sophomore Chris Carter who finished the night with 22 points, as well as converting on three three-point field goals. Sophomores Billy Sprague and Ray Riley also contributed with 11 points each.  “We prepared for them, but their shots were falling and ours were not,” was how Sophomore Billy Sprague explained Friday’s game. Read more

The Dream Continues

Boys' basketball defeats Windsor 52-50 in the first round of the 4A state playoffs.

by Scott Bruskin

    The boys’ basketball team won a very competitive game on Friday night, defeating the Wizards of Windsor in a hard fought battle. TJ had a great start, as they led by a score of 20-18 at the end of the first quarter. The Spartans were able to keep the scoring up, and entered the locker room at halftime leading by a score of 32-27. However, The Wizards answered back, and by the end of the 3rd quarter, the game was all tied up at 40.

     The Spartans were really able to clamp down on defense, as they held the Wizards to a game low of 10 points in the 4th quarter, and thus were able to escape with a win by a final score of 52-50. The Spartans enjoyed the home-court advantage they received, due to their record in the regular season. The TJ students in the stands really got into the game, and that momentum and support got the players energized, as it was a driving factor in Friday’s game.  Read more

Spartans Dominate the Vikings

TJ Basketball gets an easy win against Denver North, 76-42.

By Phillip Karlberg

The Thomas Jefferson Boys' Basketball team performed impressively in their game against North on Friday night, beating the Vikings 76-42.
The first quarter was the most damaging blow to North as TJ started out with a strong offense scoring an impressive 22 points, while North was held to a meager four points. Eight minutes in and TJ already had a 18 point lead. In the second quarter, North finally got some offense going but still could not lock down the Spartans charge. In the second quarter TJ went 23 to North's 11, bring the score at half-time to 45-15. Ahead by thirty points, the Spartans were pretty confident going into the second half. North made it's most successful attempt at turning the game around in the third quarter, but they still came up two points short, scoring 16 to TJ's 18. Read more

TJ Beats Montbello in Thrilling Fashion

The Spartans defeat the Warriors 74-69 in an important game on Tuesday.
by Scott Bruskin

    The TJ Spartans got an important win on Tuesday (February 20) when they defeated rival Montbello in a competition that went down to the wire.

    TJ got off to a quick start leading 20-11 after the first quarter.  The Spartans were lead by Derrick Ratcliff, Billy Sprague, and Chris Carter, scoring 15,14, and 13 points respectively. However, the most impressive scorer of the night was Warrior guard Nate Nelson, who scored 25 points on six of six field goals. Nelson was also 10 of 10 from the free throw line. The scoring effort did not affect the game though, as the Spartans still managed to come away with the victory. “Heading into the playoffs, we needed a quality win against a good team and we got in. We fell behind, came back, took the lead and held on against a good team,” commented Head Coach Grant Laman.

    This win ties TJ for fourth in the division with a conference record of 4-3 (14-8 overall.) Oddly enough, the Spartans are tied with the aforementioned Warriors for fourth place. However, TJ has the tiebreaker because of yesterday's win, along with the fact that they have a better overall record than Montbello.

     TJ looks to carry the momentum from Tuesday's win into Friday (February 22) when they host the Denver North Vikings at TJ at 5:30. This the Spartan's last home game of the regular season, and TJ’s seniors last game in the friendly confines of Thomas Jefferson High School.

	1Q	2Q	3Q	4Q	Final
Montbello	11	23	16	19	69
Thomas Jefferson	20	18	10	26	74

 

 

TJ Rolls Over the Rebels

TJ Boys' Basketball is victorious against South, winning 72-59.
by Phillip Karlberg

    The South Rebels could not handle TJ's intensity, as the Spartans added their 13th win of the season by a final score of 72-59 on Friday night.
     From the very beginning, South seemed to have momentum on their side. They scored an impressive 17 points in the first quarter to TJ's 11, putting them at a six point lead early on. Everything changed in the second quarter when TJ's defense tightened down on South's offense and halted the Rebels' scoring to just five points. With 16 points of their own, TJ headed to the locker room at halftime with a five point lead, 27-22. As the second half kicked off, TJ was able to build on its offensive momentum and scored 22 points to South's 15 in the third quarter. Read more

Boys' Hoops Halted by Lincoln

TJ can't top the Lancers, losing 88-73 on Tuesday
by Scott Bruskin

    The TJ boys’ basketball team fell on Tuesday night to a tough Lincoln Lancers team by a final score of 88-73.
    Lincoln came out firing on all cylinders, scoring 28 points in the first quarter to TJ’s 12. “The first half seemed shocking.  They were fast and controlling the game, but we figured things out a little more in the second half. However, we were already down 20,” said sophomore Billy Sprague. 
    Lincoln was lead by Francisco Cruz and Dre Callaway, who scored 24 and 22 points respectively. The two Lancers also shot a combined 15 of 15 from the floor.  Lincoln can credit their win to their sensational shooting as their top five leading scorers shot a combine 26 of 26 from the floor.
     TJ made a great effort, but Lincoln was just overpowering. However, TJ did have some good offensive production of their own. Sophomore Billy Sprague scored a TJ high 16 points to go along with four rebounds. Krubiel Workie scored 14 points and snagged seven rebounds himself. This loss is tough for TJ to swallow, as it is always hard to lose to a divisional opponent. The Spartans will look to rebound on Friday, February 15th when they host the Rebels of South High School at 5:30. This ought to be a closely contested game, as both teams enter Friday with almost identical records. South (13-8) has one more loss as well as one more game played than TJ does (12-8). Read more

TJ Destroys the Commanders

Boys' basketball gets back on track.
by Scott Bruskin

    The TJ boys' basketball team snapped their four-game losing streak on Friday (February 1) when they defeated the Kennedy Commanders in a lopsided affair.

    The boys posted 80 points, while holding Kennedy to only 35. This was by far the boys' biggest margin of victory this year. Sophomore Billy Sprague scored 16 points to go along with four rebounds and four assists. Chris Carter scored 12 points and added eight rebounds. The game was basically over after the first quarter, with the boys outscoring the Commanders 29-8. What really won it for the Spartans was their assist total. The squad compiled 23 assists, which is an exceptional number. It is obvious that the boys had no problem distributing the ball. They also shot terrific form the free throw line, converting on 76% of their attempts (19 of 25.) It was obvious that the boys had been frustrated with their play the last few games, and unfortunately for Kennedy, they got in the Spartans' way.

    The Spartans got a much needed win and will look to build upon this victory on Tuesday (February 5) when they go down to Denver West to take on the Cowboys at 5:00. Look for TJ to keep the momentum going and win big against their divisional opponent.

 

 

Patriots Outlast the Spartans

Third quarter 14-3 GW run puts game out of reach for TJ.
by Scott Bruskin

    The boys' basketball team hung in for a while but could not pull off the win on Friday (January 25) losing to the Patriots of George Washington by a score of 69-53.
    TJ led 14-12 after a very fast paced first quarter, but the second quarter settled down as both teams got adjusted to each others styles. George’s height advantage was somewhat contained by TJ’s big men. However, the Spartans went into half time trailing 27-24.
    The third quarter started with a George Washington seven point run; their big men down low appeared to be unstoppable as their offensive rebounds and put backs were killing the Spartans. The Patriots then went on a 14-3 run before TJ cut the lead. Read more

Jump Start

Sophomore Guard Ray Riley promises big things for TJ basketball.
by Philip Karlberg
    With high flying dunks, spectacular ball handling, and almost one hundred and fifty points so far this season, 5’ 7’’ Sophomore Guard Ray Riley brings both style and skill to the potent Spartan team.
    Varsity Basketball Coach Grant Laman sees Riley as a powerful asset, being strong in almost every area.  “He is not locked into only being a point guard,” commented Laman, “he can defend anyone.”
    Whether it is ball handling, shooting, passing, pulling rebounds or orchestrating plays, Riley displays remarkable skill.  In the long run, however, his strength is more abstract.   “My weaknesses are my strengths because if I make a mistake I will go after it and get better,” said Riley.  His hard work has been paying off, as he has totaled 180 points in the first fifteen games, 23 of which came from the game against Denver South. Read more

Boys' Hoops Downed by D'Evelyn

Basketball gets bit by the Jaguars.
by Scott Bruskin

    The TJ boy’s basketball team lost their second game in the last two days Wednesday (January 16) when they fell to the D Evelyn Jaguars by a score of 44-58. TJ had posted a bad field goal percentage, converting on only 13 of their 45 shots attempted. That 28.9% field goal percentage was their lowest of the season. Chris Carter was the only Spartan to finish with double-digit points, ending the night with 13 points. TJ also had problems making the ball from the three-point line, converting on just five of their 23 three-point shoots attempted (21.3%).

    Even with this loss, the boys are still 10-5 and are on pace to make the playoffs. The effects of this loss are very manageable, especially because this was an out of conference game. However, that was the last of the Spartans' out of conference games. From here on out, the boys will be playing all DPL games. The Spartans will have an 11 day lay-off, but will look to start the conference playoff right when they travel down to George Washington to take on the Patriots next Friday (January 25) at 5:30. This will be a huge game for the boys because as of now, the Patriots are tied for first in the conference.
 

Next Page »

Spartan Edition

Click on image to play full movie Click Here for Archives

Copyright © 2007 Thomas Jefferson Journal