Thunderbirds pick up first win, beat North Star 52-45
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Kourtney Hanson
Thunderbird junior Frank RunsAbove has helped lead the team to their first win against North Star last Monday. RunsAbove and his team will be back on the court Saturday.,
The Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds finally picked up their first win of the 2015-16 campaign last Monday when they defeated the North Star Knights in Gildford 52-45 to improve to 1-4 overall and 1-2 in conference play.
The Thunderbirds are a talented team that qualified for the Northern C a season ago. The schedule tested the team early as they played two tough games to begin conference play before challenging the Knights, a team that always seems to give the Thunderbirds a stiff test.
Monday's game was just that, a battle, but one the Thunderbirds would win.
Hays/Lodge Pole started fast, jumping out to an 18-8 lead as junior Frank RunsAbove tossed in nine in the quarter.
The teams traded baskets with each other throughout the second with the Thunderbirds getting the last to push the lead to 12 by halftime at 29-17.
North Star always seems to have a run in them when the two teams get together and third quarter was it as they outscored the Thunderbirds 20-9 and cut the Hays/Lodge Pole lead to 38-37 with eight minutes left on the clock.
It's still early in the season but both teams needed the win in a big way and the Thunderbirds were determined to get it.
Charles Werk scored six points in the final stanza and the Thunderbirds converted on seven attempts from the charity stripe to extend the lead before securing a 52-45 win.
The game featured five lead changes with the Thunderbirds largest lead being 19 points.
RunsAbove paced the offensive attack for the Thunderbirds as he scored 18 points including a pair of triples. RunsAbove also added eight rebounds, four assists and a steal in the win.
Junior Tyson Shambo is working his way back into form as he added ten points, eight rebounds and three assists in the contest.
Senior Damon Castillo chipped in eight markers while pulling down eleven rebounds for the Thunderbirds.
Junior Jace Shambo's pesky defense garnered him four steals while he also contributed five points in the win.
The Thunderbirds won the battle of the boards 48-38.
The win gets Hays/Lodge Pole back on the winning track. The team will head into the holiday break with a little momentum and use the time to build on what they have learned through the first five games of the season.
The team will look to carry that momentum into the new year when they host the Big Sandy Pioneers on January 2 before traveling to Turner to face the Tornadoes, January 8, and the Longhorns on January 9. All three teams have yet to find the win column in the District 9C.
