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Thompson’s boys basketball team used hot shooting from beyond the arc to take down Montevallo on Monday, Nov. 18. (For the Reporter/Larry Dancy)

By SETH HAGAN | Special to the Reporter

MONTEVALLO – It was a high-flying night of entertaining basketball as the Thompson Warriors traveled to Montevallo to take on the Bulldogs in a highly anticipated county matchup.

However, Thompson used suffocating defense and steady outside shooting to pull away from Montevallo on the road and grabbed their first win of the season, 78-51.

“I was really proud of our team’s effort, I thought we competed hard and I think the press was very effective for us,” said Thompson head coach Dru Powell. “I think we shared the ball offensively as good as we’ve done all season and I think it paid off on the scoreboard at the end. They’ve got a really good team so we’re fortunate to be able to beat them.”

The first quarter was a period of runs, as the Warriors jumped out to a 7-0 lead only to see it equaled by a 7-0 run by the Bulldogs, but that was as close as the Bulldogs got for the remainder of the evening.

Thompson forced 10 turnovers in the first period and that fueled a 14-0 run to end the quarter. Jack Dorolek, Zack Littleton, Durrell Russell and Van Mahone all hit threes in the first half. Mahone’s shot put the Warriors up 35-14, and they cruised into halftime with a 39-21 lead.

The third quarter saw both teams battle it out and catch fire offensively. Thompson’s Chaney Johnson showcased his entire repertoire in the period draining two shots from long range and then driving baseline and bringing down the tomahawk dunk which sent the Warrior fans into hysterics.

“That was a big time play, I couldn’t be any prouder of Chaney. Chaney works extremely hard and he’s improved his game tremendously and I was happy he was able to showcase that skillset tonight,” Powell said.

Another three from Littleton put Thompson up 55-32, and the Warriors took a 57-37 lead into the final period, before easily closing out the 27-point victory.

Johnson finished with 16 points to lead Thompson along with Zach Littleton, who came off the bench to drop 15 of his own. Grant Hopkins paced Thompson all night setting up the offense and scored 11 points. The Warriors finished with nine made shots from beyond the arc. Steven Walker also chipped in 14 points, including eight in the fourth.

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