With less than a month left in the regular prep boys basketball season, teams are gearing for the stretch run.

Thomas Jefferson did, rolling past St. Albert 85-53 in non-conference action at the T.J. Fieldhouse Tuesday.

Aside from a trade of opening 3-pointers, the game was all Yellow Jackets. The hosts led 47-17 at halftime and the contest was all that one-sided.

"We've been on a roller-coaster all season," said Thomas Jefferson coach Dave Lutz. "We were on a mission to execute tonight and play a full four quarters."

What keyed the Jackets was "our defense," said Lutz, "which made things happen for us. David (Calloway) plays the top (of the defense) for us. He's still learning, but he's getting deflections. We're not as quick as some of our past teams, but we're a long, lanky team and when we stay active, like we did tonight, we can do things."


Thomas Jefferson's defense forced 16 first-half Falcon turnovers. That got the Jackets running and once going, T.J. proved adept at finding the open man. Calloway finished the first half with 14 points, Andy Gray had 13 on the way to a career-high 20. Sean Johnson, all over the floor, had eight. Mike Richardson, working underneath, had eight and Ole Olsen, who had to sit some due to early foul trouble, chipped in five.

A 30-point halftime lead left the second half pretty much just for the record.

"We talked at halftime," said Lutz, "about having a bit of a killer instinct. I knew there was going to be a bit of a let down, but they picked it up late, so I was not disappointed."

For St. Albert, the post-season is three weeks away and the Falcons need answers fast.

"We didn't play very well," said St. Albert coach Dale Scott, "and T.J. took advantage.

"Our turnovers sparked their offense. We didn't attack, we've been too passive with our offense."

As for any other observations on the game, "we don't need excuses," said Scott. "We are not playing to our capabilities and we need to get mentally tougher."

Meanwhile, the Jackets will take this game and more.

"We're 9-6," said Lutz. "Maybe we could be 10-5. We've done everything we can after 15 games. We're peaking at the right time. Now we need to sustain it the rest of the way."

St. Albert 10 7 14 22 - 53

Thomas Jefferson 25 22 16 22 - 85

St. Albert: Jake Brown 0, Nolan Batten 8, Quinn Walsh 3, Doug Moran 11, Jake Hoffa 0, Alan Caniglia 0, C.J. Gradoville 5, Matt Herrington 0, Josh Marshall 2, Matt Waters 4, Marc Baumert 20, Matt O'Malley 0.

Thomas Jefferson: James Driver 2, Ryan Peckham 0, Scott Showers 0, Joey Pogge 0, Sean Johnson 16, Ole Olsen 13, Brian Clark 0, Andy Gray 20, Brian Meyer 2, David Calloway 18, Mike Richardson 14, Josh Kuhl 0.

Records: St. Albert (8-8); Thomas Jefferson (9-6)

Ratings: SWI: St. Albert 4th (Classes 1A-2A); Thomas Jefferson 2nd (Classes 3A-4A). State: Thomas Jefferson 15th (Class 4A).


Steve Sigafoose ©Daily Nonpareil 2006