Defending Crystal City forward Brady DeGeare requires maximum effort for four quarters.
“You have to put a body on him full court and wear him down,” St. Pius X coach Josh Aylesworth said of the 6-6 senior after the host Lancers beat the Hornets 60-55 on Wednesday in a Jefferson County Activities Association small-schools division game.
DeGeare sank three 3-point field goals and scored a game-high 28 points, but the deeper, more talented St. Pius bench allowed the Lancers (5-5, 1-0) to play faster than the Hornets (3-8, 0-1) by the end of the third quarter.
Junior forward Luke Klahs (6-4) got inside against Crystal’s City defense and made several layups to lead the Lancers with 18 points.
Klahs said he enjoys the annual challenge of playing against DeGeare.
“One person can’t win the game by himself,” Klahs said. “I don’t care about my stats. If I get assists, if I get points or rebounds, I do what’s best for the team. It depends on what the matchup is.
“Brady’s a good player who can go inside or outside. You’ve got to challenge him more on the inside than outside because it’s a lower-percentage chance when he shoots from the outside. Let him shoot the 3 rather than drive to the hole.”
Aylesworth was filling in for head coach Eric Lawrence, who was training last week with the National Guard. Aylesworth said he would be lead the team in February when Lawrence again fulfills his service duties.
“Coach Lawrence does a great job of keeping our guys prepared and I’m just filling in,” Aylesworth said. “We know Coach Lawrence is doing something for the country that we need and we respect that.”
Klahs said Lawrence’s absence isn’t a distraction for the Lancers. Lawrence sat out the first five games of the season after a suspension by the Missouri State High School Activities Association.
“The program goes on without him,” Klahs said. “Like he always says, ‘The coaches aren’t on the court playing.’ It’s all up to us.”
The first half was tightly contested. Sophomore swing player Riley Naeger (6-5) scored the first six points for St. Pius in the first three minutes of the game, but Naeger was able to add just one more point, and that came in the fourth quarter.
DeGeare scored with 2:21 left in the first to tie the game 10-10, but Klahs went right over DeGeare for a basket on the Lancers’ next possession.
DeGeare made a baseline jump shot and 3-pointer within 10 seconds midway through the second and the Lancers led 21-20. Klahs again had the answer with a basket and DeGeare picked up his third foul on the play. He fouled out with 30 seconds left in the game.
Senior swing player Nicholas Whitesides (6-3) sank a basket for the Lancers with 33 seconds left in the half and Crystal City senior guard Chris Eisenbeis made two free throws to end the first-half scoring, with St. Pius leading 27-25.
A one-point St. Pius lead with 4:12 left in the third swelled to 12 with 40 seconds to play in the quarter after sophomore Josh Ruble made a trey. The Hornets made eight 3-point baskets in the game.
“We have so many people on the bench, our coaches can filter in subs and that allows us to keep energy on the court,” Klahs said.
Crystal City roared back with eight of the first 10 points in the fourth and Klahs picked up his fourth foul with 3:20 to play. The Lancers essentially put the game away with a basket by sophomore guard Dre Townsend with 2:47 left that gave them a 56-45 lead.