Most professional basketball players would complain about playing three games in three days. High school players would do it every week if they could.
The fifth-ranked Thomas Jefferson Spartans completed their trifecta Wednesday night looking to get better production from their standouts, bounce back from a disappointing loss on Tuesday and contain the top scorer in Class 4A.
“I didn’t think fatigue would be that big of a deal with our team,” Spartans junior Billy Sprague said. “We’re fast; we run a lot. We haven’t lost two in a row all year, so we knew we were going to bounce back strong.”
Sprague scored a team-high 23 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked three shots and teammate Chris Carter had 21 points as the Spartans pulled away late to defeat No. 10 D’Evelyn 78-67.
Carter lifted the Spartans (8-4) in the second and third quarters and Sprague was huge in the first and fourth. Those two were noticeably quiet in TJ’s loss to Widefield on Tuesday night.
“I definitely felt some pressure. I’m sure Chris did too,” Sprague said.
He added, “We didn’t really help our team out last night.”
Not in the box score was the defense Shane Oliver and Deontae Fair played on Jaguars standout Jeremy Sullivan, who came in averaging 30 points. The two juniors used their quickness to harass the senior guard, although Oliver’s size and footwork were big reasons Sullivan had just three points at halftime.
“We tried to deny him the ball all game so he can’t get a look or bring the ball up,” said Oliver, who had nine points. “We tried to deny him shooting and play good, hard defense.”
Sullivan didn’t hit his first basket until there was 1:40 remaining in the first half, but it was a sign of things to come. The 5-foot-9 gunner scored 13 in the third quarter and 10 in the fourth to finish with a game-best 26 points.
Sullivan, who was 2-of-8 from 3-point range, said he forced his perimeter shots early and tried to do too much at times. He got into the flow in the second half by driving to the rim and sinking some acrobatic layups.
“It’s tough coming out every night knowing their goal is to not let you touch the ball,” Sullivan said.
Charlie Basil scored 16 of his 17 points in the first half and Sean Hintz added 15 points for the Jaguars (7-4), who dropped their second straight.
D’Evelyn 16 17 20 14 — 67
Thomas Jefferson 16 18 22 22 — 78
D’Evelyn — Tschudy 2 1-4 5, Sullivan 8 8-11 26, Basil 6 2-3 17, Crabb 1 0-0 2, Hintz 4 4-6 15, Flack 0 0-0 0, Bervick 0 0-0 0, Jennings 0 0-0 0, Neely 1 0-0 2. Totals 22 15-24 67.
Thomas Jefferson — Oliver 3 2-3 9, Riley 4 0-5 8, Sprague 9 5-7 23, Carter 9 0-0 21, Compton 4 0-0 8, Fair 1 1-2 3, Jackson 1 0-0 2, Harris 1 2-2 4, Penn 0 0-0 0, McInicoe 0 0-0 0. Totals 32 10-19 78.
3-pt. goals — Basil 3, Hintz 3, Sullivan 2; Carter 3, Oliver. Total fouls — D’Evelyn 19, Thomas Jefferson 21. Fouled out — Fair. Technicals — None.
