'The best we've shot': Thunderbolts sharpshooters secure crucial win

In front of a vocal home crowd, the Thunderbolts took the lead early and refused to relinquish it for the duration of the game.

"It was a difficult one to play, because the way [the Scorchers] play is very different to a lot of other teams," Balderston said.

"We just had to get it done as a team tonight rather than relying on a few guys."

That teamwork was on clear display as the Thunderbolts' defence was suffocating and forced the Scorchers to miss many shots that would otherwise be considered simple.

The pressure was intended to be stifling for the visitors, as Balderston wanted to capitalise on Tamworth's bigger squad.

"They only brought seven, and we had 11," he said.

"We knew early on that if everyone was spreading the work around and getting involved, they'd run out of legs in the back end, and that's exactly what happened."

Likewise, Tamworth's shooting was the best that Balderston has seen so far in 2022.

"It's the best we've shot the ball yet," he said.

"That's how we should normally be shooting. We've got three or four really good shooters in our team and the last few games, we haven't shot to our potential."

Bailey Keech led the scoring for the home team, with 21 points including four three-pointers, while Chris Pearson (17 points) and Matt Corney (10) also cracked double digits.

The win marks Tamworth's first over a top-five team this season, and Balderston hopes it will give the Thunderbolts a surge of confidence ahead of some must-win home games.

"That's three wins now, we want to try and make that fourth spot which means we really have to win our next three home games as well," he said.

"The beauty of tonight was that we got all of the guys on the floor, so every single one of them got a bit of game time to blow out the cobwebs, blow out the nerves, so I'm hopeful next time we step on that everyone's ready to contribute."

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