It didn’t start well, and it only got worse. Shots didn’t fall, free throws clanked out and loose balls bounced the wrong way. Almost right out of the gate, the ugly score began to mount. The Tigers fell hard in the end, 61-38, to the Saints of St. Thomas Aquinas on Friday night and now sit at 8-8 on the season, 4-6 in the EKL.

After a massive road win over BV Southwest, the Tigers returned to home court with a matchup against Aquinas, who owned a 62-56 victory over BV earlier on the year. The Tigers had won five out of six while the Saints, 12-5, had lost two straight. With the regular season winding down, the game was a must-win for both teams’ chances of raising their playoff seed.

It all unfolded like a blur. The Saints were on fire, draining five consecutive three-point field goals in the first quarter alone. Aquinas ran up 21 points to the Tigers’ 11. The second quarter saw the Tigers begin to falter on fundamentals, missing five free throws and throwing up several errant shots. Aquinas, meanwhile, did not come close to cooling off. The Saints made eight jump shots and again scored 21 points in the quarter. The stunned crowd watched the teams enter the locker room with the Saints up by 19, leading 42-23.

If the defensive stats were any indication, the Tigers played one of their best quarters of the season, holding Aquinas to just six third-quarter points. However, if one looked at the offensive stats, the Tigers played one of the worst quarters of the season, scoring only five points. The final quarter began with the Saints still holding a commanding lead, 48-28.

As the fans began to file out early, the score gap didn’t close. Aquinas was intent on finishing out a dominating performance and did so with a flurry of free throws. The final score read 61-38, and Aquinas sealed a season series sweep.

The Tigers now sit at 8-8 on the season, 4-6 in the EKL. With the final four opponents of the regular season holding winning records, it is imperative that the Tigers quickly bury the result in the back of their heads. A rematch with Gardner-Edgerton, who fell to BV earlier this year, awaits on Tuesday night. With the Trailblazers having fallen hard to BV North, both teams will come out swinging.

BV Player of the Game — guard sophomore Tyler Geiman

Aquinas Player of the Game — forward junior Riley Pyle