It was a difference of night and day for the North Callaway boys.

North Callaway vs South Callaway Photo Gallery

The Thunderbirds had one of their best games of the season with a 56-41 win on Tuesday last week at Wright City but then played one of their worst games with a 55-41 loss on Feb. 13 at home against district foe South Callaway. North Callaway finished with a season-high 30 turnovers.

Head coach Matt Miller said the Wright City game was North Callaway’s “best game offensively and defensively” combined and was led by the 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists of Jake Blevins. However, much can change in one game as that team didn’t show up against South Callaway (11-11).

“It was a lack of intensity on both ends tonight,” Miller said. “It starts with me as the head coach. I’ve got to get my team better prepared to play in these types of games. We were a step slow tonight on both sides of the floor.”

Jamarion Glover’s eight points and 10 rebounds led North Callaway (9-13) — two games after posting a performance of 21 points and a career-high 17 rebounds in a 71-62 loss at Elsberry. Zac Craghead followed with six points against South Callaway, and Caleb Sheets had five points.

Miller said the Thunderbirds were “right there” and had a point as they would cut their deficit to 5-7 points but then fell back behind by double digits. South Callaway would come away with a steal frequently and then quickly take it to the other end, drawing plenty of fouls in the process. The Bulldogs shot 16-for-28 from the free-throw line.

“They were careless with the ball,” Miller said. “We were getting trapped easily, and we were holding the ball too much. The ball was in our hands, and it was like, ‘Oh man, what do we do with it?’ It’s a lack of focus and a lack of intensity.”

Colten Crocker led South Callaway with 19 points, Tucker Jones had 15 points and five steals, and Graden Pontius finished with 10 points and eight rebounds. 

North Callaway lost its second game of the season to South Callaway after losing 61-51 to close the South Callaway Tournament. Miller has much confidence in his roster, but this particular game was a struggle.

“We’ve got a lot of athletes too,” Miller said. “We’ve got just as good of players as they do and just as good of athletes as they do, but we were just a step slow. That goes back to we weren’t playing defense very well because we weren’t locked in like we should be, supposed to be and like we have been the last couple weeks.”

North Callaway had three more games scheduled before districts, starting with Class 3 No. 2 Montgomery County in its last taste of district competition before the postseason begins later this month. Miller said Thursday’s game is far from good enough to survive a one-and-done scenario.

“That’s why you play the game,” Miller said. “We’ve got to be more locked in day-to-day and not live on past results. Every day is a new day, win or lose. We’ve got to have that mindset.”