Thomas Jefferson built a double-digit lead in the first quarter and added on throughout on the way to a 59-46 win in Ozark 7 Conference and district action on Thursday.
The Cavaliers (18-6, 4-2 Ozark 7) opened the game with a double digit scoring run as the catalyst for Thomas Jefferson’s 11-point lead by the end of the first eight minutes. Thomas Jefferson pushed the lead to 18 by the intermission and past the 10-point mark three minutes into the second half. The Warriors (6-20, 0-6 Ozark 7) made a run at the lead in the fourth, but the Cavaliers held McAuley at bay in the closing minutes to preserve the district road win.
“I thought we played well early, but we obviously didn’t do a good job there down the stretch that last quarter and a half,” Thomas Jefferson coach Chris Myers said. “I thought we got a little complacent. We talked about it before this game ever tipped off—McAuley is never going to go away. Coach (Tony) Witt does a great job with them. They battle tooth and nail all the way until the end no matter what the score is. They proved me correct right there because they stayed after it the whole game.”
SENIOR NIGHT
McAuley celebrated Senior Night before the game and held ceremonies for Kevin Tran, Declan Berkstresser, Jacob Bracich and Jeffrey Horinek.
“Those guys have been through some trials and tribulations,” McAuley coach Tony Witt said of his senior class. “When I took the job (two seasons ago), someone’s parent from that senior class told me those kids had a different coach every single year until I arrived. This is the only stretch where they have had some stability in their basketball career. For them to stick it out and keep bearing it, it says a lot about their character. They are absolutely great kids and high-character guys. I just wish I had them for all four years instead of two.”
GAME ACTION
Thomas Jefferson wasted little time taking control of the game, using a 13-0 run out of the game to dictate the pace early. Drew Goodhope and Caden Myers fueled the early surge with six points and five points, respectively.
“Anytime you can build a lead, you are pretty happy,” Myers said. “I thought we played well in the first half. We just kind of let up right there at the wrong time and things started to get away from us. I thought we reeled it back in and really did a good job down the stretch of finishing.”
Jay Ball finished the first quarter with six points and ended the first half in double figures along with Myers and Goodhope to propel Cavaliers to an 18-point advantage by halftime, 36-18.
Thomas Jefferson pushed the lead to more than 20 for the first time early in the third quarter after a score on the break by Myers and a pair of makes at the foul line from Ball made the score 42-20 with five minutes to play.
McAuley was able to close the third quarter on a 12-5 run to trim the deficit to 47-32 after a three-point play from Michael Parrigon in the closing seconds of the period.
The Warriors refused to go away down the stretch, cutting the lead down to 12 points, 52-40, off back to back 3-pointers from Rocco Bazzano-Joseph, who missed a significant portion of the season with a wrist injury, near the midway point of the fourth. Noah Black earned a steal for a layup on the break the other way to make the score 55-44 with 2:08 left in regulation, but that would be as close as the Warriors would get to the lead before the sound of the final horn.
“He is just starting to feel comfortable again,” Witt said of Bazzano-Joseph. “When he first came back, you could tell he was favoring the wrist and trying to figure it out. He had only played four games before getting hurt and came back in mid-January. For him to come out of his shell tonight is really big for us down the stretch. When you have someone like him playing on the side of Noah (Black) and Michael (Parrigon) on the perimeter, it’s—optimistic is the word I would use. It’s very optimistic.”
SCORING LEADERS
Ball finished with a game-high 22 points and added 16 rebounds for a double-double to lead the way for Thomas Jefferson. Myers had two 3-pointers and finished with 15 points, while Goodhope scored 11 points, all of which came in the first half.
Bazzano-Joseph knocked down a game-high five 3-pointers and tied Ball with a game-high 22 points in the loss. Parrigon finished with eight points.
UP NEXT
Thomas Jefferson takes on Bronaugh (5-19) at 7:30 p.m. on Monday in the opening round of the Class 1 District 5 tournament hosted by the Cavaliers.
The McAuley boys take on Sheldon (8-17) at 4:30 on Monday in the opening round of the Class 1 District 5 tournament hosted by Thomas Jefferson.
