Basketball Recap: St. Pius X Takes Loss Despite Strong Efforts from Kellen Biley and Derrick Carroll

St. Pius X lost against St. Thomas Catholic back in February of 2024 and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Friday. The St. Pius X Panthers took a 70-65 hit to the loss column at the hands of the St. Thomas Catholic Eagles. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 761st, while the Eagles are ranked 370th).

Despite the defeat, St. Pius X had strong showings from Derrick Carroll, who went 8 of 14 en route to 19 points and six boards, and Kellen Biley, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 12 rebounds. Another player making a difference was Oliver Bowne, who posted eight points and eight rebounds.

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Previous 1 Games

01/17/25 - Home

65-70 L

Even though they lost, St. Pius X smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in three consecutive games.

St. Thomas Catholic's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Drin Tafilaj led the charge by going 7 for 12 on his way 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 of 11 en route to 14 points and four steals.

St. Pius X has traveled a rocky road recently having lost four of their last five contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 10-18 record this season. As for St. Thomas Catholic, the victory was the fifth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 15-9.

St. Pius X will get a bit of extra time to process the loss as their next game is a ways off. They'll take on Concordia Lutheran at 7:30 p.m. on January 27th. St. Pius X has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games. As for St. Thomas Catholic, they wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next match, an 88-63 defeat against St. Francis Episcopal on the 18th.