Fans at Friday's non-league challenge between the Hays-Lodge Pole Thunder Birds (Hays, MT) and the visiting Lame Deer Morning Stars (Lame Deer, MT), saw Hays-Lodge Pole's basketball squad hold off Lame Deer by a tally of 56-54.

With the victory, Hays-Lodge Pole improves its record to 1-0 on the campaign. The Thunder Birds host Big Sandy (Big Sandy, MT) to confront the Pioneers in a C District 9 challenge on Saturday, December 17. The Pioneers come into the challenge with a record of 2-1.

The Morning Stars now own a 1-1 record. They play next when they travel to Forsyth for a B District 3 test on Friday, January 6. Lame Deer will encounter a Dogies squad coming off a 53-49 non-league win over Joliet (Joliet, MT). The Dogies record now stands at 1-0.