Baxter Heats Up Barrow! Sets Falcons Scoring Record!

TMHS sophomore Thomas Baxter, shown scoring in Ketchikan on Jan. 7, tied a Falcons single game scoring record of 40 points against Barrow, Thursday, at the Barrow Invitational. (Dustin Safranek/Ketchikan Daily News)

Juneau, Alaska (KINY) - Thunder Mountain High School sophomore Thomas Baxter has never played as far north as he did on Thursday night in Barrow, nor as he scored as many points. Baxter put 40 points in the books to tie a Falcons single game record and help the Falcons top the Barrow Whalers 73-68.

  “It was fun,” Thunder Mountain coach John Blasco said. “We were off to a real slow, sluggish start… I think he had our first 12 points of the game before somebody else scored. He just kept attacking the basket and started feeling good from the outside.”

  Falcons alum Chase Saviers set the scoring mark as a senior with 40 points against Juneau-Douglas in 2017.

  Baxter dressed up his 40 points by pulling down16 rebounds and dishing out four assists on the night.

  “Down the stretch, Sam (Lockhart) had an off night but he hit some key shots in the fourth quarter,” Blasco said. “It definitely wasn’t his best shooting night but he still found a way to score some points for us. We went with a really small line up, all guards, down the stretch. Barrow had some really athletic guard play and we weren’t able to keep up with them so we went with a smaller lineup.”

  The scoring exchange between the two teams was basket-for-basket but Blasco said the Falcons defense was better.

  The score was tied 14-14 after eight minutes of action and 31-31 at the half.

  TMHS trailed 53-50 after three quarters but outscored Barrow 23-15 in the fourth quarter for the win.

  Baxter’s 40 points included 12 in the first quarter, eight in the second, 12 in the third and eight in the fourth.

  Lockhart added 21 points, including 16 in the second half. Seniors Matthew Johns, Isaiah Nelson, Storm Aguirre, and Matthew Hartstock, junior MJ Tupou and sophomore James Polasky had two points each.

  TMHS hit 10-11 from the charity stripe, Barrow 2-2.

  The Whalers were led by L. Diaz with 17 points, U. Tuifua 15, J. Goodwin 12, A. Stackhouse eight, D. Reyes six, A. Brower-Leavit five, D. Oenga three and M. Lucine two.

  Barrow had no basketball season last year due to the COVID pandemic. Thursday nights game was the Whalers first home contest in nearly two years.

  Thunder Mountain continues play in the Whaler Invitational, taking on Nikiski today and West Valley Saturday.