Thomas Jefferson snaps Denver South’s winning streak in top-10 boys hoops battle
DENVER — Treyvon Andres of Thomas Jefferson swatted six blocks on the leading rebounder in Colorado.
“My plan was to not let him get that many offensive rebounds,” Martin said. “That’s where he gets a lot of his points.”
Andres recorded 17 points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals as No. 6 Thomas Jefferson (8-4) won at No. 10 Denver South (8-6), 59-57 on Wednesday.
The first three quarters played tight between the two teams as they exchanged leads. Going into the fourth quarter, Denver South led 47-45 after scoring 21 points in the third. Thomas Jefferson played stellar defense, allowing a game-low 10 points, in the final minutes as they took the win.
With seven seconds left in the game, Andres got thrown to the ground — an obvious flagrant foul — on a fastbreak. He nailed 1-of-2 free throws to give his team a two-point lead.
“It was a really hard foul — I just had to get through it,” Andres said. “It was a big free throw. I’m just glad enough I could make one.”
Thomas Jefferson, a 4A school, had lost three-straight games, all to 5A teams — Highlands Ranch, Aurora Central and Rock Canyon — before Wednesday. They lost by a combined total of 15 points over the streak, including a 60-59 loss to Highlands Ranch on Jan. 8.
“We’ve been grinding and grinding but losing a bunch of close ones,” coach Grant Laman said. “No one wanted to look at each other with four losses in a row.”
Denver South, on the flip side, had won six-straight games before hosting Thomas Jefferson. Senior Ibrahim Sylla has the most rebounds of anyone in Colorado, averaging 13.3. He scored 19 points and grabbed 19 boards in the loss. His vertical-jumping abilities stunned the crowd by throwing down four monstrous dunks.
“I don’t think you can shut (Sylla) down — he’s awesome,” Laman said. “We just wanted to limit him the best we could. We told Trayevon, ‘You’ve got him all night, you can play huge in the middle.’ That’s two college basketball players going at it, and the state should smile when those things happen.”
Next up, Thomas Jefferson travels to Lincoln on Jan. 17. Last season, Thomas Jefferson beat Lincoln 75-64 behind 22 points from Andres. Thomas Jefferson is 3-5 against Lincoln all-time.
“I don’t know how I’m going to prepare for (Lincoln) yet,” Laman said. “We had a game Monday, and we just won so I haven’t thought about them yet. They’re really good — we will figure something out.”
