WELLSVILLE - Behind senior forward Tanner Pezold's game-high 23 points, the North Callaway Thunderbirds notched their first Eastern Missouri Conference victory of the season.
North Callaway (4-7, 1-2 EMO) knocked off Wellsville in a 68-30 blitz Thursday night by dominating the offensive glass and limiting the Tigers to a scant seven points in the second half.
"I was extremely pleased with our defensive effort tonight - we didn't talk about anything regarding the offense in the pregame," North Callaway head coach Matt Miller said. "We wanted to come out and set the tone defensively, which helped trigger our offense.
"You hold a team to 30 points, including single digits in a half, we were pretty locked in for four quarters."
Wellsville was able to break through the North Callaway defense at the outset, producing the game's first five points. The Thunderbirds would respond by outscoring the Tigers 23-5 the rest of the quarter as they converted a number of turnovers into points.
Pezold's putback near the 6-minute mark of the second quarter lifted North Callaway into a 33-16 advantage, but Wellsville would have an answer. Spurred by senior guard Adam Maylee's back-to-back layups, the Tigers closed within 33-23 shortly before the half.
Two quick transition layups from Pezold and sophomore guard Gabe Cash gave North Callaway a 37-23 cushion at the break and set the stage for the Thunderbirds' dominating defensive performance in the third quarter.
Crossing half-court became a struggle for Wellsville as North Callaway's press repeatedly forced errant passes and sloppy shot selection.
Offensively, Pezold showed his diverse skill set during the quarter matched up against Tigers senior center Tyler Bunch. Pezold first used his speed to blow by Bunch for a layup to put the Thunderbirds up 48-26.
After Cash and senior guard Coy Danison knocked down two baskets for North Callaway, Pezold once again went at Bunch using his height advantage to get off a mid-range jumper just before the end of the quarter to make it 56-28.
"Tanner's having a great senior year, he's starting to play like a senior," Miller said. "He's a 6-foot-4 kid that can play outside and also handle it (the ball).
"He's just a tough matchup for a lot of high school post players because he can take you outside, he can stretch the floor and (is) super-athletic on the defensive end with his ability to give deflections and rebounds for us."
Cash delivered 18 points and four steals for the Thunderbirds, while Danison had 12 points and three assists.
Maylee was the only Wellsville player in double figures with 13 points.
North Callaway returns home for an EMO clash with rival Montgomery County at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 5.
Stevie Johnson can be reached at (573) 826-2423, or on Twitter @Stevie_FSun.