Boys basketball: Jefferson tops Decatur in league opener

Published 3:02 pm Friday, December 11, 2015

Thomas Jefferson and Decatur’s boys basketball teams played down to the wire on Monday, but it was the Raiders who got the early league win as they defeated the Gators 63-60 at Todd Beamer High School.

The game was held at Todd Beamer because Decatur’s home gym was deemed unsuitable for competition prior to the season.

Stifling defense was on full display as neither side could find a consistent shooting stroke. Both teams shot under 35 percent from the field.

Decatur’s inability to hit from behind the arc early in the game proved to be a major factor. The Gators would not make any of their 3-pointers until late in second quarter.

“We were 0-for-13 from the 3-point line to start out the game,” Decatur head coach David Choi said. “If one of those threes go in, it’s a totally different ball game.”

Jefferson took a 28-25 lead into the half. They briefly extended the lead to double digits during the third quarter, but only led by eight going into the fourth.

The lead evaporated further when the Gators began to control the tempo. As the game sped up, so did the Raiders’ mistakes.

“Right now we’re not very good against defensive pressure and coach Choi knows that,” Jefferson head coach Kyle Templeton said. “It kind of wore us down. They did a great job of bringing that pressure all night long.”

The turnovers began to pile up for Jefferson as Decatur applied the full-court press.

Decatur rode the hot hand of Rashon Slaughter as they cut into the Jefferson lead. Slaughter scored 14 of his Decatur-leading 20 points in the fourth quarter, including three 3-pointers.

Slaughter’s final 3-pointer of the night cut the Raiders’ lead to 60-59 in the last minute of the game. Jefferson’s Darius Anderson pushed the lead back to three with two free throws.

With only five seconds remaining, the Raiders chose to foul Decatur’s Tanner Rees instead of letting him attempt a 3-point shot. Rees made the first free throw and intentionally missed the second.

Jefferson’s Tyson Sonnenfeld pulled down the rebound and the Gators’ chances became even slimmer. Sonnenfeld only made one of his two free throws, giving the Gators less than a second for a shot.

The final attempt by Decatur’s Les Sessoms fell short as time expired, but he may not have gotten it off in time had it gone in.

“The most exciting thing about this loss is that it was in our control,” Choi said. “We want teams to play at our pace. That’s how we’re going to get things done this year by dictating the tempo.”

Kobee Mendoza, the senior who transferred from the country of Saipan, made a strong first impression on the South Puget Sound League Northwest despite his struggles with Decatur’s press. He led the Raiders by scoring a game-high 25 points.

After taking mostly jump shots during the first half, including two made 3-pointers, Mendoza began to drive into the lane more often in the second half. He wound up shooting more free throws than any other player in the game, going 11-15 from the line.

Anderson added 13 points of his own to the Raiders’ score. Tarence Taylor also made it to double-digits, scoring 11.

Tre’ Scott was second in scoring for Decatur with 16 points.

“Any league road win is a good road win,” Templeton said. “I don’t think we played very well and a lot of that is due to Decatur, the defensive pressure they put on us was impressive. We were lucky to escape here with a win.

“We’ve got a long way to go. We’re going to be a much better team in mid-to-late January than we are now. Part of that is with Kobee learning what it’s like to play basketball stateside. He’s going to get better from here on out. I really like our group, but we’re going to need some time to jell.”

Decatur fell to 2-2 overall and 0-1 in league play with the loss. They take on Federal Way at 7 p.m. tonight. They play Steilacoom at Curtis High School at 1 p.m. on Saturday in a game where they will be designated the home team.

The win was Jefferson’s third straight after opening the season with a loss to Puyallup. They now sit at 3-1 overall and 1-0 in league play. They return home to face the Mount Rainier Rams (1-2, 0-0) at 7 p.m. tonight.