By Jon Johnson
THATCHER – Isaac Palmer went for a game-high 26 points against Fort Thomas on Friday, helping his team catapult to a 69-50 victory and a date in the championship game of the EA Holiday Boys Basketball Tournament on Saturday against Pima. The Roughriders weathered yet another overtime game to drop Sabino 72-66 to make it to the championship.
Halfway through the second quarter of Thatcher’s game, play was briefly stopped to honor Palmer, who had just reached the 1,000-point milestone for his career.
Offensively, Palmer had help from Chad Johnson, who scored 16 points and was a perfect 3-3 from the free throw line; J. Way with 10 points; and Wade Hull had three triples for 9 points. Bronson Stringfellow and Braden Bryce had 4 points each.
“Well, I’ll tell you this,” Thatcher head coach Kyle Hull said, “The fans got a show the first half, man. That was a raining expedition of threes, but it was fun. Fort Thomas is always fun . . . They got a great team this year. I’m rooting for them. I just respect their coach and everything they’ve got going on down there.”
For The Fort, Damarae Dosela led the way with 20 points; Michael Olivar had 9; Malachi Johnson had 8; Amare Ethelbah had 5; and Channing Wilson and Justin Olivar had 4 points each.
“Thatcher is real tough and they are aggressive,” said Fort Thomas head coach Matthew Dona. “We couldn’t box out, and that was one of the things . . . We tried to take care of the ball, but turnovers killed us.”
Thatcher began to spread their lead in the second quarter, but Fort Thomas came back with a bevy of long balls to cut back into the lead. Still, the Eagles were up 9 at the break, 38-29.
The trend continued through the third, and then the Eagles pulled away even further in the fourth to come away with a 69-50 victory.
Fort Thomas (4-0 conference, 13-4 overall) will play Sabino next on Saturday at EAC, starting at 4 p.m. in the third-place game.
Thatcher (4-1 conference, 9-1 overall) will next play in the Championship game of the 62nd annual EA Holiday Boys Basketball Tournament against the Pima Roughriders at Guitteau Gymnasium on Saturday, Dec. 20, starting at 8 p.m.
“Right now, our guys’ focus isn’t who we play, it’s how we play. And if we can do that, we’re confident in our abilities and what we’ve got going on right now. So, that’s what we’re looking forward to,” coach Hull said.
With the opposing team being a neighboring town rival, Hull expects a packed, rocking, loud house.
“That’s what this tournament is all about. I’ve talked about it. The change of the format is great in bringing in other teams, but it kind of kills the vibe of the old EA tournament, where you’ve got sellout crowds at EA. Just the battles within the inner schools that are close. But hopefully it’s that, and we can bring it and play our game, and it is what it is after that.”
Girls Championship
On the girls’ side, defending champion Snowflake defeated St. David 64-21 to secure its spot in the final. The Fort Thomas Apaches held on to beat the Pima Roughriders in a contentious ending, 40-39. The Fort will battle Snowflake for the title at Guitteau Gymnasium on Saturday, Dec. 20, starting at 6:30 p.m.
