Boys basketball: Raiders top Gators at Bill Riley Communities Classic

By Casey Olson • January 4, 2010 10:03 pm
Jefferson senior point guard Scott Sanford dribbles around Decatur senior Robert Oliver during the Raiders' 54-53 win over the Gators at the Bill Riley Communities Holiday Classic at Decatur High School on Dec. 29.
Jefferson senior point guard Scott Sanford dribbles around Decatur senior Robert Oliver during the Raiders' 54-53 win over the Gators at the Bill Riley Communities Holiday Classic at Decatur High School on Dec. 29.

The Thomas Jefferson Raiders probably wish they played in the South Puget Sound League South Division. For the second time this season, the upstart Raiders upset a member of the South on their home floor in a non-league game.

This time it was the Decatur Gators (8-2) who fell victim to the Raiders. Jefferson (5-4) got by the seventh-ranked Gators, 54-53, in a first-round game at the Bill Riley Communities Holiday Classic at Decatur.

The Raiders also beat the then third-ranked Todd Beamer Titans in their opening game of the season.

But Jefferson fell during the championship of the two-day tournament Dec. 30 to the Gig Harbor Tides, 55-52, to finish in second place at the Bill Riley Classic. The Raiders got a career-high 26 points from senior Justin Lanier, but it wasn’t enough. Senior Eric Radford also chipped in 13 points for TJ.

The Tides, who beat Stanwood on Dec. 29, led 43-30 entering the fourth quarter. The Raiders tried to make a charge during the final eight minutes, outscoring Gig Harbor, 24-12.

Against Decatur, the Raiders got seven fourth-quarter points from Jeff Baklund and a huge 3-pointer from senior Jeff Brigham.

Jefferson dominated the game early. The Raiders led by as many as 10 points early and 15-8 at the end of the first quarter. But the Gators got back into the game and dominated the second and third quarters, and took a three-point lead into the final eight minutes.

Jefferson, however, executed better down the stretch.

Brigham, TJ’s leading scorer, hit a huge 3-pointer with 30 seconds remaining to give the Raiders a one-point lead, 54-53. Brigham, who came into the game averaging 20 points, finished with just nine, all on 3-pointers.

Decatur’s Robert Oliver missed a pair of free throws with 12 seconds remaining and McCloud missed a shot attempt at the buzzer.

Justin Lanier led the Raiders with 14 points and Baklund finished with 12 points.

Jerron Smith, the Gators’ leading scorer this season, scored 14 of his game-high 18 points in the second half. McCloud finished with 14.

The Gators bounced back Wednesday night to beat Stanwood (3-6) in the consolation game of the Bill Riley Communities Classic, 58-54.

Decatur got a huge game from Smith. The 6-foot-3 wing tallied 30 of the Gators’ 58 points during the game.

Decatur jumped out to a 12-9 lead after the first quarter and led 28-26 at halftime. The game remained close in the second half.

McCloud chipped in 11 points and Kale Schmidt led Stanwood with 17 points.