CENTRALIA - The No. 6 Thunderbirds collected their first victory of the season by holding off the No. 7 Bulldogs late Thursday night in the consolation semifinals of the 63rd-annual Centralia Invitational Tournament.
North Callaway (1-2) was in front 20-17 after one quarter and carried a 32-27 lead into halftime. The Thunderbirds protected a slim 41-38 advantage to open the fourth quarter and were able to secure the narrow win.
Senior guard Andrew Locastro connected on a pair of 3-pointers in logging a game-high 18 points to guide North Callaway. Senior guard Khobi Kellerman added 13 points and came up with seven steals.
Senior forward Mark Hollenberg pulled down eight rebounds for the Thunderbirds and sophomore guard Cody Cash handed out five assists.
"This was one of those grind-it-out games," North Callaway head coach Matt Miller said. "We had to change our game plan early because we got into a lot of foul trouble with our starters, but the team did a good job of adjusting.
"We got a lot of good production both offensively and defensively from the players who came off the bench. It's always good to get that first win because it's always the hardest."
Zach Hudnell topped Harrisburg (1-3) with 13 points.
The Thunderbirds faced No. 8 seed Salisbury for fifth place late Saturday afternoon. Results were not available at press time.