T-Birds rally past Community R-6 for first win

LADDONIA - Senior forward Quintin Nichols' go-ahead basket with 11 seconds left helped send the North Callaway Thunderbirds to their first victory of the season with Friday night's 37-34 EMO triumph over the Community R-6 Trojans.

Senior guard Braden Shramek then sealed the win for North Callaway (1-5, 1-1 Eastern Missouri Conference) when he knocked down two free throws with :01.5 to play.

"It feels really good to get that weight off our shoulders," Thunderbirds head coach Matt Thomas said.

North Callaway trailed 25-18 to start the fourth quarter, but exceeded its output by outscoring Community 19-9 in the last 8 minutes.

"We started pressing and turning them over quite a bit, which led to three or four layups," Thomas said. "Then everybody gained confidence on the offensive end."

A steal by the Thunderbirds set up Nichols' pivotal basket in the lane.

"We kicked the ball down to him and (Community) tried to run him down," Thomas said. "Quintin did a good job of collecting himself; he went off two feet with a power move."

Sophomore guard Coy Danison paced North Callaway with 13 points, while Nichols responded with six of his 11 in the fourth quarter. Senior guard Manzell Payne grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

Cordell Hollenstiner topped the Trojans (1-6, 0-3) with 14 points and Matt Gastler was next with 10.

North Callaway returns home for four games with Southern Boone at 3 p.m. Monday, Dec. 28. The first matchup is the junior varsity girls, followed by the junior varsity boys, varsity girls and varsity boys.