KINGDOM CITY - The North Callaway Thunderbirds tumbled to 1-9 on the season and 1-3 in the Eastern Missouri Conference after being overpowered by the Montgomery County Wildcats 80-50 on Friday night.
North Callaway found itself down 14-8 after one quarter, then trailed 40-25 at halftime and 62-43 to start the fourth quarter. Montgomery County closed out the blitz by outscoring the Thunderbirds 18-7 over the last 8 minutes.
Senior guard Manzell Payne scored 12 points to lead three players in double figures for North Callaway. Sophomore guard Adam Reno - making his first appearance of the season after breaking his collarbone during football season - chipped in with 11 points and sophomore forward Tanner Pezold contributed 10.
"We executed well but we just couldn't finish on the offensive end," Thunderbirds head coach Matt Thomas said. "We played hard against a good team."
Chase Parish connected for a game-high 20 points to spur three players in double figures for the Wildcats (9-2, 3-1). Corey Kroll was next with 18 points and Nick Galarza had 11.
The Thunderbirds (4-2) triumphed in the junior varsity game 53-49. Sophomore guard Justin Popp provided a team-high 14 points and freshman forward Devan Davis added 10.
North Callaway and Montgomery County have a short turnaround before facing each other again in the first round of the South Callaway Invitational Tournament at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the middle school gym. The Thunderbirds are the No. 7 seed and the Wildcats are No. 2.