Undefeated Loyola routs Blue Hawks

There was a whole lotta “Heart-Breaking” going on last week on the basketball court at Thompson Falls.

Western 6B conference leading Missoula Loyola (Sacred Heart) came to town with a 6-0 record and a first place standing in the conference, and left behind some broken-hearted Blue Hawks boys via an 86-40 route last Friday evening.

And the Loyola girls likewise caused some coronary distress to the Lady Hawks, who fell to the Sacred Heart Breakers 58-39.

The two teams with the catchy team nickname showed Thompson Falls players and fans why they are off to such a lofty start to the 2023-24 season with the wins.

The boys opened the evening action with Loyola building a 20-16 lead by the end of the first quarter of the Blue Hawks.

Loyola then shifted into heart-attack mode by outscoring T Falls 27-6 in the second quarter on their way to a comfortable 47-22 lead at halftime.

The athletic Breakers continued to overwhelm Thompson Falls in the second half, adding 14 points to their lead in the third quarter. Entering the final period of play, Loyola held a commanding 74-32 lead on their way to improving their season mark to 7-0 in the Western 6B conference.

Reynolds Johnston led a trio of Missoula players who scored in double figures when he pumped in a game-best 24 points for the Breakers. Ethan Stack added 19 points to the Missoula total and Jamo Kendrick tossed in 14 for the winners.

Junior forward Jason LeCoure led the Blue Hawks in scoring with 11 points, while senior Braedon Ferris added 10 to the T Falls effort.

Loyola out-rebounded T Falls 31-21, including 21 defensive boards during the game. Sam Burgess paced the Blue Hawks with six rebounds.

Missoula’s outstanding evening in Thompson Falls continued in the nightcap as the Lady Heart Breakers also jumped out to a sizable first quarter lead.

Loyola poured in 24 first quarter points, then enlarged their lead to 41-18 by the end of the first half.

The visitors added four more points to their lead in the third quarter, then fought off a Thompson Falls comeback attempt that saw the Lady Hawks whittle eight points off the lead in the fourth quarter.

But the early deficit proved to be too much to overcome for the Lady Hawks, who fell to 3-3 on the year with the loss. The victory boosted the Lady Breakers to 5-2 on the year, their only two losses coming at the hands of Class A teams Havre and Miles City.

T Falls sophomore forward Gabbi Hannum topped the Hawks with 17 points, while teammate Annalyse Fairbank pitched in 12 for the home team.

Loyola was led by Spencer Laird’s game-high 21 points, while teammate Gio Horner added 20 to the Breakers’ cause.

T Falls returns from the holiday break with a pair of home game this Friday (Jan 5) against Western 7-B conference foe Mission. Both of the Hawks teams hit the road the following night for a game in Charlo against the Vikings and Lady Vikings (Jan 6).