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By DREW GRANTHUM/Staff Writer

The Isabella and Thorsby boys and girls basketball teams rang in the new year by facing off on Jan. 2, with both the Rebels’ boys and girls squads winning.

In the girls’ contest, Thorsby (8-0, 2-0) opened with a 10-7 lead to start the game, opening the second quarter with an 8-4 run courtesy of baskets by Lily Barnett and Sabrina Ellison to open up a 18-11 lead.

Isabella (7-5, 1-1) then launched on a 7-2 run by way of points from Caley Booth, Alexis Owens and Sophia Underwood to take a 19-18 lead.

Thorsby then countered with three free points courtesy of free throws from Keri Robinson to take a 21-19 lead into halftime.

The Rebels opened the second half with a 10-0 run, opening a 34-25 lead by the end of the third quarter.

In the final quarter, the Mustangs opened with an 8-7 run, but the Rebels were able to hang on for a 45-36 win.

Barnett led the Rebels with 22 points, while Ellison had 12 and Marisa Jones had five. Booth and Synia’ Chattman led Isabella with nine, while Underwood had seven.

In the boys’ contest, the Mustangs (1-8, 0-2) opened with a 7-0 run courtesy of Jacob Carroll and Fidell Wilson before Thorsby (2-7, 1-1) responded with four unanswered.

A 5-4 Thorsby run ensued, capped off by a three-pointer and basket by Brock Higgins to close the first quarter with the Mustangs ahead, 11-9.

The Mustangs opened the second quarter with a 5-4 run, taking a 16-13 lead on a basket and free throw by Hunter Langston.

The Rebels responded with an 8-5 run to close the gap to 21-20, but the Mustangs held on to take a 25-21 lead into half.

The two squads battled back and forth in the third, with the Mustangs holding a 35-31 lead with 2:25 left in the quarter, when the Rebels used a basket by Bailey Sellers and a three-pointer by Christian Fortner to take a 36-35 lead with 1:07 left in the third.

The Mustangs took a 39-38 lead on a Cornelius Stacy basket, but Thorsby closed the quarter with a 40-39 lead by way of a Sellers two-pointer.

Sellers started the fourth quarter with a basket to extend the lead to three, but the Mustangs pulled even at 44-44 with a Carroll basket.

Carroll put the Mustangs up 48-46, but Thorsby took the momentum when Fortner drained a three-pointer to take a 49-48 lead with two minutes to go in the contest.

Carroll gave Isabella its last lead of the game with 1:01 left at 50-49, but the Rebels closed with a 4-1 run to take a 54-50 win.

Fortner led the Rebels with 21 points, while Sellers had 13. Carroll posted 23 for Isabella, while Stacy and Wilson had eight.