Thomas Jefferson junior Noah Sear has no fear on the basketball court.
The 6-foot-2 guard hit the biggest shot of his high school career Dec. 12 in his team’s section opener at Peters Township.
“It was 100% the biggest shot of my career at TJ,” Sear said, “because this is my first season playing there after being at Seton LaSalle last year. The play was originally designed to be a lob for Nick (Trklja), but it kind of broke down and with time running out, I had to make a play. Before I even took the shot, I was confident I could knock it down, and then once I released it, it felt good and I had confidence it was going in.”
With the score tied 39-39, Sear collected his thoughts as the Jaguars frantically worked to get off a game-winning shot. The left-handed sharpshooter launched a last-second attempt from about 25 feet and hit nothing but net.
Sear then calmly celebrated the victory with his teammates, who had rushed the AHN Arena court.
“The original shot was going to be a lob for Trklja,” TJ coach Dom DeCicco said, “but Peters took that away, so Noah just created. I would say he was about 3 to 4 feet beyond the 3-point line. Noah’s doing a great job adjusting. He is an excellent shooter, one of our best.”
The 42-39 win kept the Jaguars undefeated at 5-0 and 1-0 in Section 3-5A while the stunned Peters Township squad fell to 3-2 and 0-1.
“To win in the playoffs, you have to win games like this where it’s a grind,” DeCicco said. “It wasn’t pretty basketball, but it was playoff-style basketball, so I was proud of our kids.”
Sear also connected with a big shot from the corner with 2:45 left in the fourth quarter against the Indians to give TJ a one-point lead.
“I think we have been performing well, but there’s always room to improve,” Sear said. “I would like to share how much we want to win. Coach Decicco and the other coaches push us every day and we push ourselves to make each other better because we know how special this group can be.
“Also, coming back to TJ and playing with the guys I grew up with is amazing. The coaches were super welcoming and installed trust in me from the jump.”
Trklja has been the Jaguars’ leading scorer the last two seasons. The 6-6 senior forward lifted his team to a 39-38 lead with 41 seconds to go against Peters Township with an old-fashioned three-point play.
Trklja and Justin Fry, a 6-4 junior guard/forward, finished with 13 points apiece for TJ, which trailed 11-10, 21-17 and 32-28 after each of the first three quarters.
“I have huge expectations for us this year along with the rest of the guys and the coaching staff,” Sear said. “We believe we have the ability to win our section then win a WPIAL championship.
“With time, we will only come together more as a group and hit our stride going into the playoffs and make something great happen.”
TJ began the week of Jan. 19 with a 7-0 record in Section 3-5A and 15-1 overall after starting the season with nine consecutive wins.
The Jaguars were ranked second in 5A in the Trib HSSN WPIAL boys weekly basketball rankings.
TJ girls rolling too
The Thomas Jefferson girls team also defeated Peters Township, 65-51, on Dec. 12 in the first game of the section-opening doubleheader.
The Jaguars held a 19-12 first-quarter cushion, a 38-20 halftime advantage and a 53-32 lead after three frames.
“Peters Township has a fantastic team. We have massive respect for their program as a whole, coach Steve (Limberiou) and their players,” TJ coach Matt Gould said. “We were fortunate to put one together on both ends for a whole game. Our girls were focused, present and executed. We had fun.”
Maggie Spell, a 5-10 senior guard, tossed in a game-high 25 points to spark the visitors offensively. Spell connected on nine field goals and 7 of 9 free throws.
“Maggie can flat-out play,” Gould said. “She’s a tough matchup because she can score in multiple ways and knows how to put the ball in the hole. And she’s a great passer. She brought it in a huge section game.”
Spell was complemented by 5-8 senior point guard Riley McCabe with 17 points and 6-foot junior forward Emma Altavilla with 10.
“Riley was fantastic,” Gould said. “She defended, and she ran the squad like always. She knew when to push and when to hold. She’s really starting to understand how to run the team and within that she’s finding organic opportunities to be aggressive.
“Seventeen from a true point guard is always nice.”
After the 4-0 start, the Jaguars strung together another four-game winning streak to go to 8-1, then won five in a row in early January to extend their record to 13-2. The Jaguars also were 6-0 in Section 4-5A after defeating Peters Township for a second time 61-49 on Jan. 15.
“I think that we have been pretty solid this year other than our two losses,” McCabe said. “But there is always room for improvement.
“We definitely have high expectations. Our No. 1 goal is to win section first and foremost. It would be our first section championship in seven years. Next would be to make it to the Petersen Event Center and compete for a WPIAL championship.”
McCabe averages in double figures for the Jaguars.
“However, throughout my career this has never been something I worry about because it is not my biggest concern as a point guard,” McCabe said. “I’m more concerned about controlling the game on both ends of the floor on a nightly basis.
“I have high hopes and expectations as our team continues to bond and grow together. I am so excited to be a leader on this team and experiencing these memories with this group of girls.”
Spell and McCabe scored 17 points apiece and 6-1 junior forward Allie Wilson added 14 as TJ rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit in Game 2 against Peters Township.
Coincidentally, Spell is averaging 17 ppg this season.
“I think we have done very well as a team,” she said, “but have lots to improve upon before bracket play. The main goal for us is to continue to get better every day so we peak during playoffs.
“I hope to win the section. That will be a huge start for us. Then we have to focus on WPIALs and the state championships, which would also be a big deal creating school history.”
The Jaguars were ranked No. 2 in Class 5A in the Trib HSSN WPIAL girls weekly basketball rankings.