Thompson Falls splits with St. Ignatius

In boxing parlance, the pair of games this past week between St. Ignatius and Thompson Falls basketball teams was a split decision.

The T Falls boys kept their seat atop the Western 7B conference to themselves by swamping the visiting Bulldogs 71-42 this past Tuesday evening in Thompson Falls. 

Meanwhile, the T Falls girls lost a dog fight with the Lady Bulldogs from St. Ignatius, falling 60-54 as the visitors rallied for a fourth quarter win. 

In the boys' game, the red-hot Blue Hawks jumped out to a 19-7 first quarter lead, then extended their advantage to 32-16 by the end of the first half.   T Falls got double-figure scoring from four players, led by senior guard Kaiden Robins’ team-best 19 points. 

The home boys blew the game open in the third quarter, outscoring St. Ignatius 31-17 enroute to a 63-33 lead with one quarter to play. 

The two teams played even up in the fourth quarter as T Falls coach Jake Mickelson was able to get some valuable varsity minutes for non-starters with the district playoffs looming on the not-too-distant horizon. 

The win improved T Falls to 11-3 on the year and 6-0 in 7B conference play, keeping them ahead of second place Troy, which is 3-1 in the league. 

In addition to Robins’ 19 points, the Blue Hawks got 15 points from senior forward Bryson LeCoure, 11 from guard Sam Burgess and 10 points from Kellen LeCoure, who tied Burgess for the team lead with eight rebounds each.  Robins had five three-pointers on the night as he continued his recent scoring run. 

T Falls outrebounded St. Ignatius 45-35 on the night. 

St. Ignatius’ high-scoring guard Lex LaFrombois led all scorers with 27 points for the Bulldogs, who slipped to 3-9 overall and 1-4 in the conference. 

Thompson Falls’ girls, meanwhile, put together a 20-point first quarter in their game against St. Ignatius, giving them a 20-15 lead at the end of the first eight minutes of play. 

The two teams traded baskets even up in the second quarter, preserving T Falls’ five-point lead and sending them into the halftime break with a 36-31 lead over the Bulldogs. 

St. Ignatius nibbled two points off the Thompson Falls lead in the third quarter, which ended with the Lady Hawks clinging to a 48-45 lead entering the final quarter of regulation. 

The visitors cranked up their defensive effort in the fourth quarter, holding T Falls to six points while scoring 15 of their own.  That allowed them to erase the slim T Falls lead and pull away to the 60-54 win. 

Cora Matt scored a game-high 18 points for St. Ignatius, which also got 13 points from Kiernan Incashole and 10 from Sheadon Kain in the victory. 

Junior forward Gabi Hannum paced T Falls with 15 points and Addy Deal added 14 for the Lady Hawks, who fell to 8-6 overall and 5-1 in conference play.  The win by the Bulldogs lifted them into a first-place tie atop the Western 7B and increased their season record to 9-4. 

Next up for Thompson Falls boys’ and girls’ teams are a pair of road games beginning this Thursday (Feb 6) when they take the short hop down Highway 200 for the second rivalry game this season against Plains.  Both T Falls teams then travel to Eureka Saturday to take on the Lions and Lady Lions in conference play. 

    Thompson Falls' Sheadon Kain (with ball) is guarded by St. Ignatius' Brooklyn McClure during their game last Tuesday in T Falls. (Tracy Scott/Valley Press)
  

    Blue Hawks forward Braedon Ferris puts up a shot over St. Ignatius' Vinny Shepard during their game this past week in T Falls. (Tracy Scott/Valley Press)
  

    Thompson Falls' Owen Doyle (white) gets a shot past St. Ignatius guard Lex LaFrombois during their Western 7B conference game this past week in T Falls.  (Tracy Scott, Valley Press)