The Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds closed out the 2023 portion of their Varsity girls’ and boys’ basketball schedule. The girls played well in the first half before falling to the Box Elder Bears 58-38 on Wednesday, December 20 with the Thunderbirds standing at 2-3. The boys trailed big early and couldn’t close the gap throughout the contest, falling to 0-5 on the season.

The Thunderbirds played well in the opening stanza, trading buckets back and forth, trailing 11-10 at the end of eight minutes of action. Box Elder got their offense going a bit before the bank, outscoring Hays/LP 17-12 to take a 28-22 halftime lead. Hays/Lodge Pole couldn’t maintain the pace after the break and end up falling to Box Elder 58-38 in their District 9C contest,

The Thunderbird boys are still waiting to finalize a Head Coach, but the boys have had a number of volunteers step in and try to assist the program and lead the team. Wednesday afternoon, the boys continued to play the best game they could and tried coming out giving their best effort. The boys take on each game by providing their fans with the best effort they can put forth in each and every contest.

Hays/Lodge Pole trailed 38-12 and 55-22 by intermission. The Bears kept their foot on the gas in the second half, opening an 81-26 lead at the end of three. Box Elder won the fourth quarter 20-7 to secure a 101-33 victory in the District 9C contest. Hays/Lodge Pole will kick off the new year with a pair of road contests. First, they will be in Big Sandy to take on the Pioneers. The following day, they will challenge the Rocky Boy Stars in another tilt against District 1B foes.