After having painted themselves into a corner, the Blue Hawk boys are now trying to play their way out.

Responding with an inspired all-out effort after a recent disappointing loss to rival Plains, coach Jake Mickeslon’s Hawks fought, clawed and scratched their way past Troy 60-56 in Thompson Falls Friday to revive shaken post season hopes in a suddenly very muddled District 7B race for the conference’s final spot in the Western B divisional tournament.

Since Plains also knocked off Mission 57-55 in Plains Friday before Eureka in turn defeated 73-63 Plains in Plains Saturday, the season could come down to the Hawks’ final 7B conference game, at Eureka Feb. 28.

The Hawks and the Horsemen are in a battle for 7B’s final Western B spot, seeding dependent on final season standings and applicable tiebreakers in lieu of there being no District 7B tournament this season.

Getting a break from conference play until that Eureka game the last day of the month, the Hawks play two games against District 6B foes this week, playing at Florence Friday and hosting Deer Lodge in Thompson Falls Saturday.

“It will be fun to step out of 7B conference play and mix it up with a few 6B teams this week,” Mickelson said. "The Troy game was a big win for us. We found out some things about ourselves, we’re excited to get back to work in practice this week and continue to look for ways to improve.”

The win over visiting Troy was a visible morale booster for the Hawks after the Falls boys were rocked by a recent home loss to the rival Plains Horsemen.

Rallying for a 10-point lead at 41-31 by early in the fourth quarter, the Hawks fought the Trojans tooth-and-nail down the stretch and came up with the big plays needed to keep the lead and secure the win in the end.

Kellen LeCoure enjoyed one of his best games yet in leading the Hawks to the win, scoring 10 of his game-high 18 points in the fourth quarter, including six of six clutch free throws in those final eight minutes, in addition to grabbing 11 rebounds and 11 steals to complete his first career triple double, besides passing out seven assists, all while committing only two turnovers in the fast-paced game.

Steadily productive Ethan Burgess added 14 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals, freshman Tristan Kelly hit a couple of huge shots in the fourth quarter, including a crucial 3-pointer, and finished with 13 points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal, Brylon VonElswyk 13 points, a rebound and four steals, Landon Baird two points, three rebounds and two steals and Justin Myers three rebounds, an assist and four steals.

Carson Orr and Nolan Morris led Troy, which fell to 4-3 in 7B play and 9-6 overall, with 14 points each, and Thomas Guinard and Emerson Downey added 12 apiece.