Thompson wins third in five years

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Thompson lived up to its Warrior nickname Monday night to capture the Class 6A, Area 10 championship.

Trailing 24-17 at the half and 35-25 to enter the fourth quarter, the Warriors battled to out score Jackson-Olin 25-7 in the final eight minutes on their way to a 50-42 victory.

&8220;We shot poorly for three quarters and were totally beaten by Jackson Olin, and were fortunate enough to play that hard and that well to get the win in the fourth,&8221; Coach Jeff Nichols said.

Early in the fourth quarter four players each hit consecutive 3-point baskets to overcome the double-digit deficit.

&8220;It got every body excited and we quit turning the ball over. We had twice as many turnovers than we normally have. We went from 10 down to about five up in a hurry,&8221; Nichols said.

With the win, the Warriors will host Northridge for a sub-regional game Friday at 7 p.m.

&8220;We played them in the summer at a team camp. They&8217;re playing extremely well right now and played Hillcrest (ranked No. 7 in Class 6A) to four points (70-66),&8221; Nichols said.

The area tournament win is the third for Thompson in the last five years, winning it back-to-back in 2003 and 2004.

&8220;The players have been very coachable this year and are a very hard working group of guys,&8221; Nichols said.