Thunderbirds defeat Box Elder 69-60, Fairview 62-59 finish 4th at State C
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The Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds concluded the season with wins over the Fairview Warriors 62-59 and the Box Elder Bears 69-60 at the Montana Class C State Tournament in Bozeman this past weekend.
The Thunderbirds fell to the Arlee Warriors in semifinal action Friday evening 81-71 and the Scobey Spartans 74-72 in the consolation final to finish fourth at the State C.
Anytime you are playing on Saturday the last night of the season you have had a pretty good season and the Thunderbirds certainly did that finishing 24-4.
The Thunderbirds opened play with a edge of your seat win over the Fairview Warriors Thursday afternoon. Senior Elijah Blackcrow converted a offensive rebound into points as the first quarter came to an end putting Hays/Lodge Pole up 17-16.
The Warriors took a 36-33 lead by halftime in a contest that saw the lead change hands throughout. The Thunderbirds trailed 52-46 at the end of the third quarter but still had some gas in the tank.
Senior Frank RunsAbove opened the fourth with a layup and then found senior Tyson Shambo with a beautiful pass to cut the deficit to 52-50.
Junior Ryle Foote connected on a turnaround jumper in the paint and was followed by Shambo going coast to coast to give the Thunderbirds back the lead 56-55.
In a game that featured 12 lead changes it was the Thunderbirds who had the last as RunsAbove knocked down a pair from the charity strip and Shambo put the final point on the board from the line giving Hays/Lodge Pole a 62-59 win.
Tyson finished with 27 points in the win while Runsabove contributed 18.
Friday the team faced eventual state champion Arlee in the semifinals. The Thunderbirds challenged the Warriors start to finish and had their chances to make runs but in the end it was a 81-71 loss.
The Thunderbirds received a fantastic effort from senior Jace Shambo who returned from injury to score 23 points in the contest.
The loss sent the Thunderbirds into a loser out contest where they would challenge a familiar foe in the Box Elder Bears for the right to play on Saturday night at the state tournament.
The Thunderbirds turned in a solid effort overcoming a early Bear lead by outscoring Box Elder 22-11 in the second quarter to lead 39-29 at the break.
The lead would shrink to 49-42 after three quarters before the Thunderbirds would secure a 69-60 win and defeat the Bears for the fourth time this season.
RunsAbove scored 18 in the contest, Tyson Shambo 17 and Foote 15.
Saturday night the Thunderbirds opened up a 43-32 halftime lead only to see the Spartans battle back in the second half.
The Thunderbirds gave 12 points back in the third quarter, trailing 57-56 entering the fourth. A block by Jace Shambo led to a lay-up from senior Chay-Chazz Shambo and a 66-60 lead.
Scobey responded with a run of their own down the stretch to take a 69-68 lead. Junior Chance Main scored for the Thunderbirds with 1:22 left in the contest to give the Thunderbirds a 70-69 lead. Jace Shambo would tie the contest at 72-72 but pair of free throws by the Spartans with :07.1 left secured a 74-72 Scobey win.
Jace Shambo led the Thunderbird effort with 21 points, Tyson Shambo finished with 18 and RunsAbove 9 as the Thunderbirds finished the season 24-4 and fourth at the State C.
