MOKANE - All North Callaway Thunderbirds basketball coach Tim Turlington asks of his team is to play consistently. Consistently good, that is.
And for 35 minutes of their South Callaway Tournament semifinal game against the Hermann Bearcats on Thursday night, the Thunderbirds did just that.
Then the wheels fell off, so to speak.
"We have to be more consistent with what we're doing," Turlington said. "One night we have a few guys playing good, then it's not that they're playing bad, it's just that they fade in and out."
Top-seeded Hermann blitzed North Callaway in the game's final 5 minutes, 17 seconds in handing the Thunderbirds a 55-40 defeat. North Callaway (5-5) - the tournament's No. 4 seed - was on the business end of an 11-3 closing run after being down just two points.