Dec. 18—The field in Shelby was loaded with top-flight Class B basketball teams from around the state providing a good sneak preview of what may be in store for the season.
For the Thompson Falls boys’ and girls’ teams the tournament served as a measuring stick for the year at hand and a gauge for things that need to be improved.
Both teams faced Fairfield and Malta during the two-day event, and both left town without a win against those strong, non-conference opponents. The Blue Hawks boys lost their tourney opener Friday to Fairfield, 63-47, then went up against Malta Saturday and fell to the Mustangs 76-62.
The Lady Hawks had an even more difficult time with the same two opponents, losing to Fairfield 67-37 and dropping a 64-28 encounter with the Lady Mustangs from Malta.
In their game against Fairfield, the Blue Hawks fell behind early in the first quarter as the Eagles broke out to 24-8 lead after the first eight minutes of play.
T Falls outscored Fairfield 16-11 in the second quarter to trim the Eagles’ lead to 35-24 at halftime. The Hawks continued pecking away at the Fairfield lead in the third quarter, cutting four more points off the lead to pull within 44-37 heading into the final quarter of regulation.
But Fairfield regrouped and withstood the T Falls charge, outscoring the Blue Hawks 19-10 over the final eight minutes of play to seal the 63-47 win.
Thompson Falls senior forward Bryson LeCoure continued his early season scoring output with a team-high 17 points for the Blue Hawks. Teammate Sam Burgess also scored in double figures with 10 points. Burgess led the Hawks with 10 rebounds, while LeCoure and Kellen LeCoure had nine boards each.
DeRon Lear led all scorers with 24 points for the Eagles, while teammate Reed Von had 21.
Saturday morning the Blue Hawks took on Malta and broke out to an 18-16 lead after one quarter of play. However, Malta opened things up in the second quarter, outpointing Thompson Falls 23-12 in the period to take a 39-30 halftime advantage.
The Mustangs kept the pressure on in the third quarter, adding 14 points to their halftime lead, which was 60-39 entering the final quarter of play.
The Blue Hawks rallied for 25 points in the fourth quarter while holding Fairfield to 16, but the early lead proved to be an insurmountable lead as the Eagles held on for the 76-62 victory.
Senior Kaden Robins had his best offensive game of the young season for the Blue Hawks, pouring 28 points, including seven three-pointers to lead T Falls. Bryson LeCoure added nine for the Hawks.
Bryson McCormick topped the Blue Hawks with 10 rebounds.
The dual losses dropped Thompson Falls to 1-2 on the year, one week after they pulled out a narrow win over Florence in their home opener.
The Lady Hawks also had a rough outing in Shelby, falling behind the Lady Eagles of Fairfield 8-5 after one quarter. Fairfield outscored T Falls 12-2 in the second quarter on their way to a 20-7 lead at the half.
Fairfield cranked it up in the third quarter where they outpointed the Lady Hawks 26-10, increasing their advantage to 46-17 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Lady Eagles added seven more to their lead in the final quarter to walk away with the 64-28 triumph.
Junior forward Gabi Hannum led the Lady Hawks in scoring with 15 points, while Fairfield was led by Natalie Harrel and Kenzie Allen, both of whom had 14 points.
Saturday morning the Lady Hawks took on the Lady Mustangs from Malta who opened a 16-10 lead after the first quarter. Malta increased the advantage to 32-16 by halftime.
Malta outscored T Falls 35-21 in the second half to wrap up the win. The Lady Hawks fell to 0-3 on the season with the pair of setbacks.
Hannum scored in double figures once again, totaling 11 points to pace T Falls. Malta got a game high 23-points from Neva Jacobson and 19 points from Denvy Tuss.
Next up for both T Falls teams is a pair of home games this Friday (Dec 20) against Seeley-Swan. They take to the road the following day for a conference game against Anaconda, their final game before the Christmas break.
