Slideshow: Djuan Miller of KM drives to the hoop between the outstretched arms of TJ's Jeff Brigham and Spencer Hicks. Click on the image for more photos from the game.
All of the elements were there for a big Thomas Jefferson boys basketball win.
The Raiders took an early lead, were rooted on by a throng of fans and even had the exciting shot at the end.
The only problem was they were still behind Kent-Meridian, 73-65, after that last shot to come away as the loser, albeit after winning their previous three games to open the season.
First year TJ head coach (and former Raiders player) Kyle Templeton knew right where to put the blame.
"Our biggest issue -- and we know it -- is we just turn over the ball too much," he said. "We've had 20 in games we've won, so it built a false sense of security there."
The Raiders jumped out front early in what wound up as a 24 turnover game.when they were hoping for a win to put them at 4-0 overall and 3-0 in South Puget Sound League North Division action. Instead they fell to 3-1 overall and 2-1 in division play.
Jeff Brigham of the Raiders opened the scoring Thursday with a shot from underneath, then K-M's Serjio Arroyo tied it temporarily at 2-2.
TJ followed with six unanswered points.
Scott Sanford started it with a steal and layup, before 6-foot, 7-inch Raider teammate Spencer Hicks scored off a pass underneath.
Brigham then went up and under to make it 8-2 with 4:50 to play in the first quarter.
Sid Verma of the Royals iced one of two free throws to break the streak, before Sanford scored on a layup to make it 10-3.
Kent-Meridian came right back to make it 10-6 on a Djuan Miller three-point basket. TJ answered in kind at the 2:30 mark -- before the Royals took off on a 12-0 run that included three three-pointers and 4-for-4 free throw shooting. K-M never trailed after that, although the Raiders stayed in contention most of the way.
TJ trailed, 73-63, after T.K. Moffit swished in a pair of free throws with 23.4 seconds left.
Brigham followed with a steal before blazing across the court and scoring on a layup at the other end. The shot went in with 0.8 seconds remaining.
Unfortunately, it only left the final score at 73-65 in favor of the Royals.
"It's frustrating, but we're building," said Templeton.
Brigham scored 25 points to lead the Raiders and Radford hit 15 to go with nine rebounds. Hicks hit eight points to go with nine rebounds. Sanford scored seven, Moffit six and Justin Lanier four.
