By SETH HAGAN | For the Reporter

ALABASTER – The Thompson Warriors improved to 4-0 on the 2018-19 season and picked up some hardware in the process winning their Thanksgiving Invitational with a solid 55-38 victory over the visiting Bibb County Choctaws on Tuesday, Nov 20, at Warrior Arena.

The first quarter was tight defensively as both teams forced turnovers, but it was Thompson who found the hoop as Julian Woods and Brad Lewis each netted two baskets in the period.

Bibb County struggled to shoot from the outside for the majority of the game and found it difficult to penetrate Thompson’s 2-3 zone. The Choctaws only made one shot and got the rest at the free throw line as the Warriors led 12-6 after one quarter.

Bibb County started to make progress offensively moving forward, but the Warriors showed off their range to keep the Choctaws at bay thanks to Jack Dorolek and Zach Littleton both hitting from three. The Warriors finished the quarter on a 7-2 run to double their lead, 24-12, going into halftime.

Thompson head coach Dru Powell was pleased with his team’s performance in all facets.

“Really excited about a complete team win, every guy played their role and it was really fun to watch,” Powell said. “We’re playing hard, playing smart and playing together. Just a really fun group to be around right now.”

Bibb County mounted its best effort in the third quarter starting off with a 13-6 run including a couple of 3-pointers to close the deficit to 30-25. After another three from Littleton, Thompson responded from the free throw line hitting four of six late in the quarter to take a 37-29 lead into the final period.

Dorolek connected on his third triple of the night to get the Warriors started in the fourth quarter. Littleton followed with his third not long after to give Thompson a steady 11-point lead.

The Choctaws got no closer than eight the rest of the way as the Warriors iced the game hitting on seven of their final 11 free throws. Dorolek led Thompson with 15 points with Littleton chipping in 11.

“Jack’s a really good player because he’s hard to guard because he can score from deep, but also score at all three levels,” Powell said. “He had a really good night tonight and there were some others guys that played well also.”

Powell also believes his team has a high ceiling and will continue to improve as they continue to buy in with the new staff this season.

“I think if we just continue to execute our offense, you know we played a couple games where we can get sloppy on both ends of the court so we just need to stay disciplined there,” he said.