They finally fell from the ranks of the unbeaten, but not without a good fight.

With the injury/illness bug thinning their starting rotation, the Thompson Falls boys basketball team suffered its first loss of the season this past week, falling to Western 7B conference rival Mission 58-49 on the Blue Hawks home court Thursday evening.

But they also picked up a pair of non-conference road wins against Stillwater Christian (Kalispell) last Tuesday in a nail-biter and routing Seeley on the road.

With starting forward Dante Micheli and guard Nathan Schraeder unable to suit up, the Blue Hawks took on a tall and talented Mission team that was looking to avenge a loss to Thompson Falls earlier this season.

The Bulldogs got what they came for in a tightly contested battle that was rife with smack-talking in what has become a heated conference rivalry. Thompson Falls won the first seasonal encounter between the two, taking a narrow 59-57 win in St. Ignatius.

This one looked to be a tight fight from the start, as the Blue Hawks, behind the rebounding and defensive play of senior forward Kade Pardee took an 11-10 lead after the first eight minutes of play.

Mission, led by scrappy 5-7 sophomore guard Zoran LaFrombois, managed to erase the early Blue Hawk lead in the second quarter and head into the intermission with a 29-27 lead.

In addition to missing two key starters, the Blue Hawks had a substandard night at the free throw line, hitting 7 of 13 shots, while also shooting 28% from two-point range for the game.

The Bulldogs took advantage of their overall height during the third quarter, outscoring the Blue Hawks 17-10 on their way to a 46-37 lead heading into the final eight minutes of play.

With Blue Hawks guard Justin Morgan hitting four of five 3-pointers, Thompson Falls managed to whittle the Bulldogs’ lead to five halfway through the fourth quarter, but could get no closer.

The win boosted Mission to 2-1 in conference play and 5-2 on the year, while Thompson Falls fell to 4-1 in 7B play and 5-1 for the season.

Morgan paced the Blue Hawks with 18 points while Pardee added 15.

Blue Hawks coach Jake Mickelson said he was pleased with his team’s effort despite the loss.

“I’m proud of the way our guys battled,” he said. “In these days you just have to be ready to roll with a modified lineup at the drop of a hat. We had some guys step up and I think that will be a benefit later in the season.

“I’m hopeful we will be full strength by next weekend.”

With the two starters still missing in action, Thompson Falls would take out their frustration over the Mission loss by thumping Seeley 62-26 Friday night in Seeley.

Against the Black Hawks, Pardee was once again a dominant force on the court as the Blue Hawks raced to a 14-7 first quarter lead. They then outscored Seeley 15-6 in the second quarter to grab a solid 29-13 halftime advantage.

The second half proved to be more of the same as the Blue Hawks dominated the boards and kept up their intense defensive pressure.

By the end of three quarters of play, the Hawks had built an insurmountable 43-18 lead, then padded that lead by 11 points over the final eight minutes of the game.

Pardee scored a game-high 25 points. Five other Blue Hawks put their names in the scorebook, including 6-5 senior post Cody Burk with nine, and senior forward Tristan Subatch, who added eight to the Thompson Falls offensive attack.

The win over Seeley improved the Blue Hawks overall record to 6-1.

The Blue Hawks began their week with a down-to-the-wire 50-48 win over upstart Stillwater Christian Tuesday night in Kalispell.

Stillwater, which came into the game having played only two other games this season due to illness/injury problems of its own, came out strong against Thompson Falls, taking a 16-11 first quarter lead.

The Blue Hawks began battling back in the second quarter, shaving two points off the Christian school’s lead, which shrank to 25-22 at the half.

Both teams traded baskets in the third quarter, with Stillwater holding a 41-37 lead entering the final eight minutes of play. Pardee and Burk took control of the boards in the fourth quarter as the Blue Hawks erased the Stillwater lead and held on for the win.

Both Pardee and Burk scored 15 points to tie for team-high scoring honors.

As the second half of the Covid-shortened season gets underway, Thompson Falls will host Troy this Friday, then remain home for a Saturday meeting with Anaconda. Both games are Western 7B conference affairs.