CASEY GEORG Special to the Press
THRALL — After a disappointing loss on Friday at the hands of the Holland Hornets, the Thrall Tigers (20-2 overall, 3-1 District 27-2A) bounced back Tuesday with a resounding 58-37 win over the Hearne Eagles. Payton Gillmore and Steven Walker led another balanced scoring effort by the Tigers, each tallying 13 points, that got the Tigers back on the winning track. Thrall led 7-0 early on the strength of a pair of put-back shots by Dawson Meiske, who finished the night with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Hearne finally got on the board with four minutes to play in the opening period, but the Tigers continued to roll and led 17-4 after one quarter of play.
Meiske finished the first quarter with nine points, while Breken Proctor dropped in four. The Tigers remained hot from the field in the second period. Gillmore hit a trio of treys toward the midway point of the quarter, and Walker added four points, as the Tigers built a 31-13 halftime lead on the Eagles.
Thrall, who has benefitted from multiple scorers throughout the season, continued their streak in the second half. Five different Tigers scored in the third quarter, led by Ethan Dahl and Walker, who each scored five points. Carson Ball finished off the quarter with a banked threepoint jumper at the buzzer that put the Tigers ahead 48-22.
Hearne was able to trim a few points off the lead in the fourth quarter, as the Tigers slowed the game down. Despite the 15-10 scoring edge for the Eagles, they could get no closer than the final margin.
In addition to Walker and Gillmore’s scoring, Walker added nine rebounds, while Gillmore dished out five assists in the game.
Dahl finished the night with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Thrall was back in action on Friday when they traveled to Milano to face the Eagles. The Tigers will be off on Tuesday, before traveling to Thorndale on January 19 for a key match-up with the district- leading Bulldogs.
