Basketball: Tamworth Thunderbolts overcome top-ranked Hills Hornets

A middling season would have made the organisation happy, so long as the players were enthusiastic and showing signs of improvement.

But coach Kane Butler always knew they were capable of more.

And when the team produced one of their best performances of the year on Sunday night to fell the top-ranked Hills Hornets 89-78, the secret to the Thunderbolts' success was simple.

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"We haven't had that much fun [in a game]," Butler said.

"Once we play freely a bit, in transition and all that, we're great. And I think the boys are trusting each other a lot.

"At the start of the season, that's what we build for."

Throughout the year, the Tamworth team has made a habit of starting quickly, slowing down in the middle portion of games, and needing to come from behind to win.

Uncharacteristically on Saturday night, they led throughout all four quarters, and at one point even held a 22-point advantage over Hills.

The team, captain Scott McGann said, was infused with confidence after their win the round prior against the fourth-ranked Canberra Gunners Academy.

"We've been building all year," he said.

"We're a young group, but we're still learning and we're starting to piece it together. We've had some really big wins in the last couple of weeks and confidence is really high at the moment."

Last night's was the Thunderbolts' third-straight win, and the result keeps them in the hunt for a top-four finish with just three rounds of the regular season left to play.

While it was not a perfect performance, the Tamworth squad has vastly improved from the start of the year and begun to develop a culture of winning.

"Winning fixes a lot of problems," McGann said.

"Things that maybe would have been an issue in the first half of the year when we weren't winning games aren't an issue anymore.

"Everyone's been happy when we're winning games, and it's all starting to come together."

Kyle Gupton (25 points) led the scoring for the Thunderbolts, while Allante Harper (20), Keenan Davis (17), and McGann (15) also contributed.

Butler praised Davis' performance, saying the 18-year-old was "huge", while also pointing out the contribution of Sol Arranz throughout the game.

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