BOLIVAR, Mo. — Thomas Jefferson’s impressive season came to an end on Saturday after the Cavaliers fell to St. Elizabeth 54-35 in the Class 1 quarterfinal round of the state tournament at the Meyer Wellness Center on the campus of Southwest Baptist University.
Thomas Jefferson, playing without starter Tyler Brouhard, trailed by five after the first quarter and was never able to crawl out of the early hole. The Cavaliers and Hornets were nearly even after the next two periods, separated by five at the intermission and by seven after the third. St. Elizabeth pulled away down the stretch in the fourth quarter to earn the right to move on to the Class 1 semifinals.
The Hornets take on South Iron at 6 p.m. on Friday at the JQH Arena on the campus of Missouri State University.
Thomas Jefferson closes the year with a 22-7 record and graduates seniors Kaushal Parimi, Elias Rincker, Drew Goodhope, Jake Jarrett, Luke Miller and Caden Myers.
GAME ACTION
Thomas Jefferson trailed 18-12 early in the second quarter before Myers grabbed an offensive rebound for a putback, which was followed by a Jay Ball inside bucket that trimmed the deficit to 18-16 with 3:40 left in the quarter.
St. Elizabeth pushed the lead back up to seven on a 3-pointer by Caleb Oligschlaeger with the 30 seconds left in the first half, but Ball added a bucket before the horn to make the score 25-20.
The Hornets held a 35-24 lead late in the third quarter after a bucket in the paint by Jace Kesel for their first double-digit advantage of the game and went into the fourth quarter with a 35-27 lead.
St. Elizabeth pushed the lead to 10 with four minutes left and closed the game on a 13-4 run to seal the win.
SCORING LEADERS
Ball finished with 14 points, while Myers finished with 12 points. Goodhope closed with six and Jarret added three.
