Jalen Thornton Propels St. Pius to Dramatic 43-42 Win Over Jefferson

(FESTUS) It was another down-to-the-wire, nail-biting, palm-sweating rivalry game between Jefferson and St. Pius Friday night on KJFF. The Lancers pulled out the 43-42 win at Ralph Boyer Gymnasium behind a Jalen Thornton go-ahead jumper with seconds to spare.

The two-pointer was the last basket of a 7-2 St. Pius run to end the game. The win at home was sweet revenge for the Lancers after Jefferson’s Easton Null hit a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer last season. St. Pius head coach Eric Lawrence had certainly not forgotten about that as Null tried to do it again.

The Applebee’s Bar and Grill of Farmington Player of the Game was Jalen Thornton. Hitting the game-winner was something special.

The Blue Jays had their shining moment right at the end of the first half.

However, the win for the Lancers puts their overall record at 17-7 and their Small Schools Conference record at 3-2. The loss for Jefferson drops them to 15-8 overall and 3-2 in the conference. Both teams have just one more game before districts as St. Pius hosts Principia for Senior Night on Monday and Jefferson welcomes in St. Paul Lutheran on Monday.

Eric Lawrence Post