Aaron Rowe knew it was over before it even began.

“I felt like we had it before the game even started, like in the locker room," Rowe said. “We were all turned up and just active and just locked in. So we knew it was over even before we even got that tip-off.”

From start to finish, Tolton never once trailed Battle on its way to a decisive 71-59 victory. For Rowe, the jitters in his season debut on Jan. 10 were no longer present.

The result was a 30-point performance by the class of 2025 Missouri commit. It was the first time the junior remembered reaching that scoring mark in quite some time.

“I think it was my freshman year. (My) First game,” Rowe said. “I had like 34 in my first game in my freshman year.”

Rowe’s mid-range jumper and highlight dunks highlighted the Trailblazers 12-point victory, but he wasn’t alone. Zay Wilson and JaVar Galbreath each scored in double-digits. The Trailblazers raced out to an early lead by as much as 16 in the first half.

“We played at great pace at times, and then we executed what we needed to execute in situational basketball. So obviously Aaron, he’s his legs underneath him, so I thought Xavier Wilson again was efficient. He played great. I thought JaVar Galbreath and Will Fretwell, our bigs, set the tone early and effectively with their ability to crash the glass.”

It’s almost impossible to play a perfect game, but against the Spartans, it was the right response following a 67-55 loss at Kickapoo four days prior.

“I know Aaron scored a lot, but that's about as good of a team effort on both ends that you’re going to get,” Tolton head coach Jeremy Osborne said. “We had a lead late in the third against Kickapoo, and we didn’t finish the game well. It was bad decision-making. We just didn’t execute on either end in the fourth and so I just wanted to see our guys finish a game, put together four quarters, and I thought they did a pretty good job.”

With a victory, Tolton feels that it is one of the best teams in the area as its crowd at Battle chanted “best in Como,” with the final seconds ticking down.

“We’re definitely the best team in the county for sure,” Rowe said.

“I think we have all the pieces. We just need to start putting them together,” said Tolton’s Javar Galbreath following his 13-point performance. “Once we put them together, for sure, we’re the best in Como. We’re probably the best in the area.”

The past week strengthens the Trailblazers argument for that statement. Last week, Tolton, now the eighth-ranked team in Missouri, defeated a talented three-loss Hickman team 66-56.

Battle, ranked 16th in the state, came into Wednesday riding a six-game winning streak in which they hadn’t lost since a last-second overtime defeat to Kankakee in the Norm Stewart Classic.

“They’ve got some players, man. Ben’s doing a good job, and they're ranked for a reason,” Osborne said. “Their record is what they are, and they're a really good team. And so we had to play a really good basketball to come in here and win.”

While Tolton controlled a sizeable lead throughout the contest, Battle still played with plenty of confidence for a full 32 minutes. Vernell Holt led the way for the Spartans with 19 points, while Tate McCubbin added 15 of his own.

“I did like how we didn’t really give up. I felt like we kept fighting back, and we played with good energy,” Battle head coach Ben Pallardy said. “I thought, really Tate, he brought it, he came in the right mindset, came in ready to go, and so I liked that, but you know, some of our bench guys played really well. I thought Caden Lewis played really well and Brandon Rooks, so for those guys to come in and play well off the bench as underclassmen in a huge game like this with so many people, that was really impressive to see.”

The two teams facing off against each other showed just how talented basketball is in the Boone County area.

“It’s a lot of fun. It’s really cool that all of the Columbia teams are really good,” Pallardy said. “These games are a blast, and I thought Father Tolton did a great job. I thought they came in prepared. I thought Jeremy did a great job…Aaron just played unbelievable. Some of the shots he made were incredible and he showed why he’s arguably the best player in the state.”

Tolton will participate in the Quincy Shootout on Friday and Saturday where it will face Curie High School and Calvary Christian Academy.

Battle returns to the court on Friday where it will take on Ft. Zumwalt West at 7:30 PM in the third of five consecutive home games.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Tolton makes its case for the best team in Boone County following its victory over Battle