The Long Prairie-Grey Eagle high school gym was filled last Tuesday night for the conference opener  the Thunder and Upsala Cardinals’ boys basketball season. Last year, both teams earned trips to the state so it was a much anticipated game.

Despite playing through foul trouble for much of the game, the Thunder boys were able to fend off the Cardinals en route to a 67-55 victory.

Junior Cody Sprenger led the team with 20 points. Senior Austin Kaiser recorded a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds on the night.

In the second half, the Thunder were faced with foul trouble out of many of their key players.

Duane Miller started the half with four fouls and his night ended early with 14 minutes left of the second half as he picked up his fifth.

This led the Thunder to use a smaller lineup, sometimes featuring a five guard set.

“Our team did a very good job in the second half when we were dealing with foul trouble,” head coach Bruce Young said.

Upsala made a few runs that kept the score close but the Thunder were able to fend them off to keep a solid lead.

“They started out fast and we had to work hard to get the lead to 15-14,” Young said. “They made a couple runs but we turned them away at the end to win by 12.”

The Thunder next play at St. John's Prep on Dec. 8.

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