BOYS BASKETBALL: Jefferson beats Decatur in opening round of Bill Riley Communities Holiday Classic, lose to Lincoln in final

By Casey Olson • December 30, 2010 5:29 pm
Decatur junior guard Dom Hunter goes up for a shot over Jefferson's Jacob Thoreson (left) and Daryon James during the Raiders' 71-61 win over the Gators Wednesday night in the opening round of the 2010 Bill Riley Communities Holiday Classic at Decatur.
Decatur junior guard Dom Hunter goes up for a shot over Jefferson's Jacob Thoreson (left) and Daryon James during the Raiders' 71-61 win over the Gators Wednesday night in the opening round of the 2010 Bill Riley Communities Holiday Classic at Decatur.

For the second year in a row, the Thomas Jefferson boys basketball team wasn’t very kind to the hosts of the 2010 Bill Riley Communities Holiday Classic at Decatur High School.

Just like last year, the Raiders (3-6) downed the 10th-ranked Gators in the opening round of the four-team tournament on Decatur’s home court Wednesday night, 71-61.

The victory moved Jefferson into Thursday’s championship game, where they were dominated by Lincoln, 82-52. The Class 3A, fourth-ranked Abes (7-1) outscored the Raiders 22-7 during the first quarter and led 43-21 at half.

Jefferson got 19 points from Deontae Davis and 10 from Daryon James during the loss to Lincoln. The Gators (5-3) lost to Rogers Thursday in the consolation game, 88-54.

The Raiders controlled a bulk of the game Wednesday against Decatur and had seven players score at least seven points during the victory. Jefferson was led by the 19 points of sophomore guard Daryon James and got 14 from senior Deontae Davis.

Decatur got another big scoring night from senior Jerron Smith. The Portland State-bound guard finished with 30 points after coming into the game averaging 28.6 a game. Senior Austen Wilson finished with 15 and Darryl Larkins chipped in a career-high 10 points for the Gators.

The Raiders jumped out to a quick 13-9 lead after the first quarter before tallying 29 points during a back-and-forth second period to take a commanding 42-31 halftime lead.

Decatur cut the TJ lead to seven entering the fourth, but the Raiders were able to hold in the final eight minutes.

The win was TJ’s third non-league victory this season. Five of their six losses have come in the rugged South Puget Sound League North Division, where they are 0-5. The Raiders jump back into their SPSL schedule Tuesday on the road against Tahoma.

Rogers 88, Decatur 54 — The Gators finished in fourth place at the four-team Bill Riley Communities Holiday Classic with the 34-point loss to Rogers in the consolation game Thursday night.

The Rams outscored Decatur 49-24 during the second half on the Gators’ home court. For the second night in a row, Smith finished with 30 points during a loss. Decatur’s next highest scorer was Wilson with eight points.

The Gators kick off their SPSL 3A regular season schedule Tuesday at home against Peninsula. Decatur also hosts Bonney Lake Friday.