UNIVERSAL CITY — What a weekend for the Thunder 10U boys basketball team!

The youngest of the NBT boys’ squads began the Patriots Invitational Tournament with a 32-2 trouncing of a young Austin Royals team before dropping a nail-biter to the FBCHA Eagles, 20-17. The Thunder led by as many as six, but ultimately fell to the Eagles’ stellar defense. Lukas Swies’ long ball missed the mark, sending Thunder to the bottom seed of the championship bracket and a matchup with the Texas Lions.

Against the Lions, the Thunder offense struggled, scoring only 5 points in the first half. Trailing by eight and seeing their chances of playing in the championship game fading, the dynamic defensive duo of Swies and Emmett Cozart limited the Lions to only 4 points in the second half. Cozart and Swies both booked 6 to bring the Black and Teal within two points late in the game. The nervous Thunder fans erupted when Caleb Perry was fouled as he nailed the game-tying shot. After the missed free throw, Swies sank a long jumper to put the Thunder ahead for the first time in the game, 19-17. The crowd went wild as the Comeback Kids were born.

“We’ve had a blow out, we’ve had a close game, and we’ve had a comeback," head coach Seth McCord told his team. "Now all we need is a championship!” They prepared to face the same Eagles team that bested them the day before.

In the title game, the Thunder jumped to an early lead, but got into some foul trouble and fell behind 15-10 at the half. Eli Fikes added a big defensive presence off the bench, guarding the Eagles’ best player to help stem the bleeding.

In the second half, the Thunder defense again locked down, holding the Eagles to just nine points. Cozart led all scorers with 10 points, Jordan Jankowski nearly had a double double with 12 boards and 7 points, and Swies notched 7 points in the game. The Thunder boys all combined to double their half time score in the second half. But it was Cozart who sealed the deal, sinking the game-winner and the Thunder’s claim on the tournament crown.

Cozart led the team in scoring with 30 points for the tournament, followed by Swies with 27, Jankowski with 18, and Perry with 10.

The Thunder 10U boys are back in action Monday, Dec. 16, at 5 p.m. at Gateway Christian.