Basketball Recap: St. Thomas Catholic Extends Winning Streak to Five

Eagles

Previous 5 Games

01/17/25 @ St. Pius X	70-65
01/14/25 @ Concordia Lutheran	71-41
01/07/25 vs Cooper	70-36
01/04/25 @ Prestonwood Christian	52-49
01/03/25 @ Nolan Catholic	65-48

St. Thomas Catholic entered their tilt with St. Pius X on Friday with four consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with five. They secured a 70-65 W over the St. Pius X Panthers. Given the Eagles' advantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 370th, while the Panthers are ranked 761st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

St. Thomas Catholic's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Drin Tafilaj, who went 7 of 12 en route to 21 points and six boards. That's the most points Tafilaj has posted since back in November of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Pierce Jacobson, who went 5 for 11 on his way to 14 points and four steals.

St. Thomas Catholic smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive boards. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 6.9 offensive rebounds per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 games they've averaged 11.1.

Derrick Carroll and Kellen Biley certainly did their best on Friday to avoid the loss. Carroll went 8 of 14 en route to 19 points and six rebounds, while Biley dropped a double-double on 12 points and 12 boards. Another player making a difference was Oliver Bowne, who posted eight points and eight rebounds.

St. Thomas Catholic pushed their record up to 15-9 with the victory, which was their fourth straight on the road. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 64.5 points per game. As for St. Pius X, they have been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 10-18 record this season.

St. Thomas Catholic didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next match, an 88-63 loss against St. Francis Episcopal on the 18th. As for St. Pius X, they will have a little extra prep time after the defeat as they won't be playing again for a while. They'll take on Concordia Lutheran at 7:30 p.m. on January 27th. St. Pius X is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 57.2 points per game this season.