Thomas' pursuit of Damon Bailey always depended on the amount of games played, especially in the postseason.

On Saturday, Thomas and the Bishop Luers boys basketball team ran out of games with a 70-68 upset loss to Southwood in the Class 2A regional semifinals at Tipton.

Thomas scored 34 points to finish with 3,018 career points, one behind Marion Pierce's 3,019.

That puts Thomas third on the all-time boys basketball scoring list, and fourth with boys and girls combined.

Pretty good numbers as Thomas becomes only the fourth player in state history to go over 3,000 career points.

"Some people don't respect that, but I think I had a great career," Thomas said. "Growing up, I didn't think I would be on the charts like that."

Although there are no guarantees, his numbers and previous two state championships should be enough to get the McDonald's All-American the state's Mr. Basketball award.

"He put himself in a different category," Luers coach James Blackmon said of Thomas. "This is one of the tough things when you see a freshman come in, and you see the things he did in the school and on the basketball court. He kept things in perspective. He's gained a lot of attention, and to be able to take that and stay humble was very important for him."