Boulder – What the Thomas Jefferson Spartans couldn’t do with their hands Saturday night, they finally accomplished with Ryan Atherton’s feet.
Given four chances at the free-throw line in the final 14 seconds to ice their second consecutive Class 4A state championship, the Spartans went 2-of-6 and led by three with 3.1 seconds remaining.
Harrison inbounded the ball to standout Antoine Watson, who dribbled the ball off Atherton’s feet while trying to make a move at halfcourt. The best the Panthers could manage was a heave at the buzzer as the Spartans survived with a 47-44 victory at the Coors Events Center.
“That was two seconds, and they only had three,” Atherton said of the time spent trying to recover the ball. “But they still got a pretty good shot off.”
TJ (19-9) won its ninth straight and its third hoops championship since 1967. Senior standout Pierre Allen led the Spartans with 13 points and 16 rebounds, and blocked five shots to reprise his role as The Post’s most valuable player of the tournament.
“This one actually means more to me than the last one, the fact that I had both my cousins on my side,” Allen said, referring to first cousin Lawon Benford (10 points) and distant cousin David Holt (11 points). Benford and Holt, both starters, weren’t on the team last season when TJ defeated Harrison 55-43.
Holt, TJ’s best free-throw shooter, went 1-for-4 in the closing seconds, missing the front end of two 1-and-1 situations. The Panthers couldn’t get the ball back after each miss and twice had the ball bounce off their own players.
Holt blamed his jinx on cottonmouth and nerves.
“Boy, we couldn’t buy one, and it was so nerve-racking,” TJ coach and graduate Grant Laman said. “Dave Holt is money from the free-throw line. That kid never misses in practice. He’ll shoot 25 straight.”
TJ was a miserable 4-of-16 from the foul line. Harrison wasn’t much better, as the Panthers made 6-of-19 for the game and 3-of-13 in the fourth quarter.
Harrison (18-10) trailed by 10 at halftime after getting outscored 16-2 in the second quarter, when the Panthers shot 1-for-17 from the field against TJ’s zone defense. The Panthers, seeded sixth, rallied to tie the game 43-43 on a 3-pointer by Watson (12 points) with 3:01 remaining.
O’Bryan Hewitt had 11 points for the Colorado Springs-based Panthers, and Watson pulled down 16 rebounds.
4A boys
All tourney
Ryan Atherton, Thomas Jefferson, Sr.
Devon Beitzel, Centaurus, Sr.
Adam Nigon, Broomfield, Sr.
Antoine Watson, Harrison, Sr.
MVP
Pierre Allen, Thomas Jefferson, Sr.
Harrison 16 2 16 10 – 44
Thomas Jefferson 12 16 9 10 – 47
Harrison – Watson 4 3-6 12, Register 3 1-2 8, Hewitt 5 1-6 11, Halvorson 0 1-2 1, Hollins 3 0-3 6, Kaufman 2 0-0 4, Harris 1 0-0 2, Perryman 0 0-0 0, Spellman 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 6-19 44.
Thomas Jefferson – Benford 5 0-2 10, Atherton 2 2-4 7, Kane 2 0-0 4, Allen 6 1-4 13, Holt 4 1-4 11, Askew 1 0-2 2, Lewis 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 4-16 47.
3-pt. goals – Register, Watson; Holt 2, Atherton. Total fouls . Harrison 16, Thomas Jefferson 14. Fouled out – Allen. Technicals – None.
