John Schneiders knew he had to get the ball no matter what. 

With St. Thomas Aquinas holding a 49-47 lead in the final minute, the Saints were on the verge of turning the ball over as it slowly bounced out of bounds. 

Before it could hit the floor, Schneiders jumped into action, diving and hurling the ball back to teammate Jack Boedeker for an easy layup. It marked the game’s pivotal play as Aquinas took a 54-47 win over visiting Blue Valley Friday. 

“I was just trying to save the ball, compete and get a win,” Schneiders said. “I was just glad I could come up with it and get it to Jack.”

Aquinas coach Sean Reilly said he sees Schneiders do that every day in practice.

“He’s like a pinball. Our players don’t know what a pinball is because they play video games, but Schneiders reminds me of Ricochet Rabbit,” Reilly said, referencing an old cartoon whose main character bounces off multiple stationary objects at a quick pace. 

The Saints (9-6, 4-5 East Kansas League) trailed 46-45 midway through the fourth before ending the game on a 9-1 run. 

“We had three or four sets that we’ve been working on and were able to execute them down the stretch,” Reilly said. “We competed really well. We played well in spurts, but we competed well the entire game.”

Starting for the first time this season, Boedeker dominated the paint, scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. 

“We got the ball inside well, and I got the ball off offensive rebounds and that helped get me in a position to score,” he said. “This is a good win. They got us the first time, so it’s good to come back and get them.” 

Aquinas avoided the slow start that had plagued it the past two weeks, scoring six quick points and taking a 12-10 lead in the first. 

Blue Valley (11-5, 6-4) poured in 20 points in the second frame, but its lead was cut to 30-26 at the break thanks to Ben Hangenkord’s 3-pointer at the buzzer. 

The lead changed hands seven times in the second half before Angelo Allegri’s basket with 3:15 left put the Saints ahead for good. 

“Aquinas outplayed us, outworked us and the better team won tonight,” Blue Valley coach Dwight Williams said. “You have to give them credit, they had a good game plan on us. They did the little things and we didn’t.”

Hagenkord finished with 14 points and Karter Odermann added 13 points to put three Saints in double figures. 

Tyler Geiman scored 18 points to lead all scorers for Blue Valley, which also received 10 points from Ritter Braithwait. 

“I thought what we did best was defend Geiman,” Reilly said. “He’s one of the best all-around guards in the city and we kept throwing different guys at him just to try and keep him off pace. When the ball is in his hands, he’s going to make something happen that is positive. He scored 18, but he had to earn everything.”

Reilly emphasized the Saints’ effort never relented, something Schneiders’ play represented. 

“When you compete well you give yourself a chance to win games,” he said. “I saw us competing away from the ball. It’s what you do away from the ball that a lot of times is the deciding factor.”