The North Callaway boys made a few decent runs to cut into their deficit Tuesday against Boonville.

North Callaway vs Boonville Photo Gallery

The bad runs were too much to overcome, however, as the Thunderbirds lost their first-round Centralia Invitational game 58-40. Boonville’s lead grew to double digits in the second half to as large as 17 points.

North Callaway (2-2) has played Boonville (3-0) nine times in the Centralia Invitational and its losing streak to Pirates extended to seven games. Head coach Matt Miller said Boonville’s typical zone defense was effective yet again.

“This year, they trap a little more of it, and they’re very aggressive with quick guards,” Miller said about Boonville’s zone defense. “We knew two keys to the game coming in: we have to value the basketball and we’re going to have to shoot the ball with confidence. We didn’t really do those things well enough or consistent enough throughout the course of the game.”

Boonville surged ahead 16-8 after the first quarter and widen the gap again after North Callaway cut the deficit to as low as five points early in the third quarter. Zaiden Walker had five steals to go with 14 points, which only followed Braylon Ellison’s 15 points. 

Jake Blevins led North Callaway in scoring within the starting lineup at 10 points. Dalton Brewer matched that total off the bench, scoring six points late in the second quarter. Brewer and CJ Cunningham took the ball in transition a few times and knocked down shots in the lane to make it only a 30-23 Boonville game at halftime. 

“(Brewer) came off the bench tonight but started last week for us so we view him as a starter,” Miller said. “He’ll start again for us this year. He’s a guy who can provide that offense for us and provide that spark and hit some shots.”

There were periods where each team struggled to hit shots, including layups, so rebounds were plenty. Logan Conz finished with a double-double for Boonville at 10 points and 13 rebounds, and Brayden Viertel had eight points and 10 rebounds. Neither compared to Jamarion Glover.

Glover finished with 17 rebounds for North Callaway, spending all of his minutes diving on the floor and relentlessly pursuing each miss. Oftentimes, he would outfight the Pirates for the rebound.

“He’s a young man with a high motor,” Miller said. “He has that attitude that there’s 10 guys on the floor and I’m going to get every rebound. That’s his attitude, and we love that. He took two charges tonight also defensively. Jamarion’s effort was really solid on the defensive boards.”

Miller added he liked the effort on the defensive glass from the rest of the team and thought that key to the game was actually met. He said this speaks to the kind of kids North Callaway has this season.

“I love the character of the kids in our locker room,” Miller said. “We played really hard, I can’t fault the effort and we competed. That’s what I loved about tonight. We were right there within striking distance the whole game until the last three minutes.”

North Callaway plays Salisbury (1-2) at 4:30 p.m. Thursday in the consolation bracket.