It was a tough night for the Thrall Tigers (7-7 overall, 1-1 District 27-2A) Tuesday night. The Bartlett Bulldogs (7-6, 1-1) pulled away late to top the Tigers 49-39, evening both teams’ district record at 1-1.
The teams went back and forth through the first half of the opening quarter. Shamar Wilson hit a short jumper to open the scoring for the Bulldogs, but Breken Proctor responded for the Tigers with a threepointer from the top of the arch. Thrall extended its lead to 5-2 on Ethan Dahl’s layup, but Darien Carter evened things up for Bartlett with a jumper and free throw.
From there, the Bulldogs went on a 5-0 run behind Carter’s layup and a trey from the left side, but Thrall wasn’t finished. Josh Poling sank a jumper in the lane with 10 seconds to play in the first and cut the lead to 10-7 entering the second quarter.
Back-to-back baskets from Wilson to open the second quarter gave Bartlett a 15-7 advantage, but the Tigers answered with four quick points to pull within four. The Bulldogs’ Tristen Evans countered with three shots from behind the arch over a two-minute span that pushed the Bulldogs’ advantage to 26-11. But, Thrall finished the quarter with shots Poling and Brady Burlison that trimmed
Photo by Larry Pelchat
the lead to 26-15 at the half.
The teams traded baskets throughout the third quarter, but it was Bartlett’s shooting from the charity stripe that made the difference. The Bulldogs hits six of eight shots from the free-throw line in the quarter and pushed their lead to 38-25 entering the final quarter of play.
In the fourth, the Bulldogs led by as many at 15, but Thrall made a late charge. Proctor ran off 10 straight points for the Tigers to trim the lead to 42-36 with 3:22 to play. Dawson Meiske cut the lead further, completing a 3-point play a minute later and Thrall was within three. But, the Bulldogs scored the final seven points of the game to seal the win.
The Tigers were back in action on Friday in Holland to face the Hornets (9-8, 0-2). They will be on the road again Tuesday when they travel to Hearne.
