MONTGOMERY CITY - The North Callaway Thunderbirds featured five players in double figures as they turned back the Montgomery County Wildcats 64-51 in an Eastern Missouri Conference matchup Friday night.
North Callaway (2-8, 2-2 EMO) took a 32-25 advantage into halftime and led 47-39 to open the fourth quarter. The Thunderbirds sealed the victory by outscoring Montgomery County 17-12 over the final 8 minutes.
Junior guard Manzell Payne paced North Callaway with 17 points, while senior guard Brandon Hagedorn added 12 and senior forwards Michael Pezold and Steven Coleman and junior guard Braden Shramek supplied 10 apiece. Coleman topped the Thunderbirds with 12 rebounds and Hagedorn handed out a team-high seven assists.
"It was a good win; we're improving in every game and it showed in our last practice," North Callaway head coach Matt Thomas said. "It was really great to see five players in double figures."
Nick Galarza guided Montgomery County (5-6, 2-2) with a game-high 24 points and Logan Henke had 11.
The Thunderbirds (1-9) dropped the junior varsity contest 50-37. Freshman forward Sam Althiser logged a team-high 13 points and freshman forward Tanner Pezold contributed 11.
No. 8 seed North Callaway will get a shot at a rematch with host and top-seeded South Callaway in the first round of the South Callaway Invitational Tournament at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The game will be played at the high school.
The Thunderbirds' bid to knock off the unbeaten Bulldogs fell short in a 58-56 loss at Kingdom City on Jan. 5.