It was the first game of the season, but the North Callaway boys played well as a unit Tuesday at home against Centralia.
The Thunderbirds went in to Tuesday with five straight losses against the Panthers - the two last season were by scores of 56-36 and 66-62 - but tightened up defensively in the second half to eventually win 67-40. Junior Matthew Weber led the way with a career-high 32 points followed by senior Drew Blevins' 15 points and junior Trenton Jones' eight.
Weber was North Callaway's second leading scorer last season behind the graduated Cody Cash, averaging 15.1 points per game behind Cash's 15.4.
North Callaway led Centralia 18-15 after one and 32-26 at halftime and really stepped it up defensively starting in the third quarter, head coach Matt Miller said.
"It was a good way to start the season. The played good team basketball, especially on the defensive end," Miller said. "In the third quarter, our defense took control of the game."
After the intermission, the Thunderbirds (1-0) doubled up the Panthers 20-10 in the third quarter and held them to four points in the fourth.
Centralia (1-1) was returning a majority of its starting lineup from last season but only had one player score in double figures, Beau Gordon, who had finished with 11 points. The Panthers were coming off a 65-32 win against Missouri Military Academy.
North Callaway (1-0) plays Silex (2-0) on Friday at home, with junior varsity starting first at 6 p.m.