In their quick encounter with only a couple weeks between games, the St. Thomas Varsity Basketball team took a victorious standing against their historic rival, St. Pius X.
With the first game being away in enemy territory at St. Pius, St. Thomas knew they would have to keep their composure and stay focused against the bantering from the loud crowds. The game started off neck and neck. Both teams were trading buckets back and forth. After some time, St. Thomas started to pull ahead. Drin Taflaj, a transfer senior into St. Thomas, had a huge impact with increasing the team’s momentum. A force in the paint and hitting big shots, Taflaj was having his way with the St. Pius team. Long-time members of the team, Evan Levy ‘25 and Caleb Kimble ‘25, also played tremendous roles both offensively and defensively.
“I really wasn’t 100% healthy, but I had to battle through it and be efficient,” Evan Levy ‘25 said.
After halftime, St. Pius had started to gain some momentum off of St. Thomas’s mistakes. Down 11, Pius went on a 17-4 run to take the lead over St. Thomas. Even with this run, Pius had kept pushing through and dominating. Coach Llorens trusted his players and let them find their groove back without calling a timeout. Shortly after the start of the 4th quarter, St. Thomas found a spark off the bench that helped them regain momentum. Sophomore, Pierce Jacobson, came late in the game and hit some game-changing shots for the Eagles. With his spark and the efficiency of Taflaj, Kimble, and Levy, the Eagles were able to pull out a victory of 70-65 in an away game against St. Pius..
In just the span of a little over two weeks, the Eagles were now on their own court hosting the St. Pius Panthers. Coach Llorens and others knew that they would have to make some adjustments to have a much cleaner game than last time.
“We did not play good defense at their place and gave up way too many easy baskets, but I think being at home and having seen them before will allow us to fix the little things and be more comfortable,” Coach Llorens said.
This game had a similar beginning to their previous game.. It was a neck-and-neck battle for nearly all of the first half. Levy and Kimble were dominating the offensive end for the Eagles, while the Eagles as a team collectively forced many turnovers. Although the Eagles gained some leads throughout the first half, Pius never gave up and kept it close. At halftime, more adjustments were made and the Eagles came out dominating in the second half. Halfway through the 3rd quarter, the Eagles went on a 15-4 run to take a commanding lead over the Panthers. After that, the Eagles never looked back and won by a score of 75-55. Senior stars Evan Levy and Caleb Kimble continued to carry the way offensively, combining for 48 of the teams’ 75 points.
As a result, the Eagles were able to sweep their season series against their Shepard rivals. More importantly, they were able to find the identity of finishing games in crucial situations, and being able to adjust and dominate off of those adjustments.
