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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

NORTHPORT – The Thompson Warriors had to fight for it, but they secured a massive area victory on the road against the Tuscaloosa County Wildcats in the final minutes.

Thompson defeated Tuscaloosa County 58-56 on Tuesday, Jan. 14 at Tuscaloosa County High School after a tightly-fought matchup throughout between the two area foes.

The Warriors had a balanced attack throughout the game, and that stated in the first quarter as five different players combined for 15 points. Damonte Tabb and Cam Pritchett got a pair of field goals in the first while Landyn Smith hit his team’s first 3-pointer of the night.

That was good enough for Thompson to outpace the Wildcats through eight minutes and take a 15-11 lead into the second quarter.

The two sides went blow-for-blow in the second quarter as each team hit a pair of 3-pointers, with Riley Bryant and Jaden Love hitting for the Warriors, while Zac Edwards proved to be an exact foil for Pritchett as both scored six points in the quarter.

Thompson took a 33-29 lead into the break, but that four-point lead would be under threat for the rest of the game.

Tuscaloosa County’s defense locked down in the third quarter, surrendering just seven points in the quarter and only two from the field.

Carson McKenney, Smith and Pritchett went 5-for-6 from the free throw line to limit the damage while the Warriors had their best defensive quarter of the game by giving up just 10 points.

Even with that effort, Thompson held just a one-point lead at 40-39 heading into the fourth and final quarter.

Edwards and Ford Traweek continued to spur the Wildcats onward, combining for 12 points in the fourth, but the Warriors kept spreading the ball around and finding the bottom of the net on offense. Tabb, Bryant, Love, Pritchett, Smith and McKenney all chipped in from the field to help hold off the hosts.

Thompson’s free throw success continued when it needed points the most as Bryant, Love and Smith combined to go 5-for-6 from the field in the fourth. That helped the Warriors hold off Tuscaloosa County and secure the two-point win.

Four different Thompson players finished in double figures as Pritchett scored 13 points, Bryant dropped 11 points and Smith and McKenney each finished with 10 points. Love earned eight points and Tabb rounded out the scoring with six points.

The Warriors are now 12-10 overall and 2-1 in area play with the win. They will now prepare for back-to-back area road tests, the first on Friday, Jan. 17 at Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa at 7 p.m. and the latter on Monday, Jan. 20 at the Prattville Lions at 5:30 p.m.