By Brandon Sumrall | Special to the Advertiser

Thorsby bid farewell to the seniors on its varsity basketball teams and cheer squad on Tuesday night as the Rebels played host to the Billingsley Bears.

Unfortunately for the Rebels, the night didn’t exactly go as planned as they split two varsity games with the Bears, with the THS girls losing in a comeback by the Bears, while the boys came away with the win.

Overcoming a 10-point deficit going into the final period, the Bears rallied to pick up the road win, 44-38.

The first period of the game quickly became a 3-point shooting contest as Madison Price knocked down two from behind the arc for the Bears.

Not to be outdone, Lillyanna Barnett and Zakeya Robinson each knocked down a pair of threes in the period, but the Bears took a slim lead at the end of the first period, 14-13.

The offense for both teams slowed down greatly in the second period. Seven points from the Rebels was enough to regain the lead, 20-18, at halftime.

Two 3-pointers and three more baskets from inside the arc by Robinson sparked a Rebels charge in the third period en route to a 16-8 third period run.

Heading into the fourth period, the Rebels led 36-26.

Just 12 seconds into the final period, a 3-pointer from Billingsley’s Price launched an 11-2 run for the Bears, and with 3:02 to play, a Price free throw knotted the game at 38-all.

Tashanna Parker’s basket with 1:51 to play gave the Bears the lead and started another 6-0 run to end the game, giving the Bears the win.

Robinson led the Rebels with 20 points, five rebounds, two steals and three blocks.

Price led the Bears with 14 points, four rebounds, four steals and two blocks.

A poor first-half shooting performance by the Bears and forced turnovers by the Rebels defense put the visitors’ boys team in an early hole they would never climb out of, as Thorsby picked up the 70-49 win, sending their three seniors out with one last victory.

Ten points from Darius Davis, including four-of-four from the charity stripe, contributed to the Rebels’ 19-8 first-period lead.

Davis added six more points in the second period, and along with six from Cameron Castleberry, the Rebels took a 39-20 lead to the locker room at the half.

A 57-percent shooting effort, including two-of-four from behind the arc, helped the Bears chip away at the Rebels’ lead in the third period, but at the end of the third, the Rebels maintained a 53-37 edge.

With a comfortable fourth-period lead, the Rebels cruised through the final period, taking the opportunity to get many underclassmen a little playing time on their way to the win.

Davis led the Rebels with 27 points, nine rebounds and five steals.

Denzel Callens led the Bears with 11 points, three rebounds and two steals.