St. Thomas basketball hands Strake Jesuit first loss of season

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St. Thomas basketball hands Strake Jesuit first loss of season

One of the best boy's basketball rivalries in the area completed another chapter Tuesday night, and in the end, it was the biggest player on the court that wrote the final paragraph.

St. Thomas center Antuan Bootle's three-point play with 2:45 remaining in the game gave the Eagles the cushion they needed to finally hold off Strake Jesuit 58-47 in a contest that saw the 6-7 senior, who committed to Sam Houston State earlier this month, finish with 21 points.

"We were just looking to run some time off the clock," said Eagles head coach Neil Laminack, whose team improved to 5-2 overall. "We hadn't been getting our big man the ball, and anytime he touches it, he's either going to the basket or drawing a foul."

It was the first points of the quarter for St. Thomas, which had let a 43-32 third quarter lead shrink to 46-44 when Tim Frazier drove in for a layup with 3:37 left.

Strake Jesuit was unable to draw closer, as the Eagles connected on eight free throws in the final 1:55.

The standing room only crowd at St. Thomas was treated to an entertaining clash between Bootle, who also added 13 rebounds and a blocked shot, and Crusaders junior forward Joey Brooks. Brooks matched his Eagles counterpart with 21 points, including a explosive second quarter that saw him score 15 points on a dazzling display of three-point shooting that was capped off with a dunk which helped Strake go into intermission down 30-26.

The difference in the game was St. Thomas' ability to slow down the Crusaders' long-range duo of Tulane University-bound Trent Rogers and Austin Claunch. Rogers was held to just one trey and finished with only seven points on the night, while Claunch was limited to just one three-pointer, his only score of the night. The Eagles also did a good job of finally slowing down Brooks, who was held scoreless in the final eight minutes.

"We were worried about their outside scoring," said Laminack of the Crusaders. "Trent is one of the best shooters in the Houston area, and Claunch is as good as it gets."

St. Thomas countered with a long range barrage of its own, as guard Cody Hill hit three of the Eagles' six three-pointers, finishing with 13 points. The 5-7 Hill also got one of the biggest ovations of the night when he rose up and blocked the shot of the 6-1 Rogers late in the fourth quarter.

"We're a team through and through," said Bootle. "When we come together, we're tough to beat. That's how we roll."

[Guest FPHS 78]

Neil Laminack

is that one of the HJ laminacks?