CENTRALIA - The No. 8 seed North Callaway Thunderbirds tumbled to 0-3 on the season after being pummeled by the top-seeded Salisbury Panthers 73-35 in the first round of the Centralia Tournament late Tuesday afternoon.
North Callaway was down 16-8 after one quarter, then Salisbury proceeded to outscore the Thunderbirds 22-6 in the second quarter to open up a 38-14 halftime advantage.
Senior forward Michael Pezold topped North Callaway with 12 points and six rebounds. Senior guard Brandon Hagedorn contributed nine points.
"Salisbury has a very good ballclub, but mentally we were not ready to play," Thunderbirds head coach Matt Thomas said. "We did not play hard."
Lane Springer answered with a game-high 23 points to pace the Panthers (3-0).
North Callaway will play either No. 4 seed Macon or No. 5 Southern Boone in the consolation-bracket semifinals at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.