From the opening seconds, Isaiah Thomas was too much to handle for the Wellsville-Middletown Tigers in the Pink Out boys basketball contest at Ballew & Snell Court.

The Montgomery County junior scored the opening basket with just four seconds into the contest and went on to turn in a strong effort, scoring 10 points with two 3-pointers to lead his team to a 71-10 win over W-M in the contest between cross-county rivals.

Thomas got to pose for pictures with the Traveling Trophy next to the locker room after the game. He said he was thrilled to help his team bounce back from a 63-49 road loss to Battle the night before.

“I felt like it built our confidence,” Thomas said.

The following night, Thomas helped the Wildcats beat St. Louis University High 70-50 in the Ramey Midwest Shootout at Ritenour High School in St. Louis. MCHS improved to 7-3 with the back-to-back wins over W-M and SLUH.

Now, Thomas hopes to help his Wildcats enjoy more success as the boys basketball season approaches its second month.

“I feel like we have a different team,” Thomas said. “We have Jake (Stellwagen) coming in and playing with us. I feel like we’re starting to get to know how to play as a team better. I feel like that can take us along the way.”

Thomas was one of three MCHS players in double figures in the win over the Tigers. Junior Clayton Parker finished with 17 points and Stellwagen had 10. The Wildcats had 11 players score at least one point.

Gage Marshall finished with six points to lead W-M, which had just six players in the contest. The Tigers dropped to 0-6 overall and 0-1 in Eastern Missouri Conference play.

Thomas finished in double figures in the Pink Out game for the second year in a row. Last year, he scored 17 points to lead the Wildcats to a 59-20 win over the Tigers at W-M.

In this year’s contest, Thomas scored all of his points in the first quarter. In the opening seconds, the junior received a pass from Parker following a tip-off and scored a layup, starting a 20-0 run for MCHS.

The Wildcats defeated the Tigers in the Pink Out game for the second year in a row. They also improved to 3-0 in conference play.

After a month, Thomas is picking up right where he left off from a year ago, when he helped the Wildcats win 19 games and capture an EMO title. He averaged 10 points per game and led the Wildcats in assists and steals. Thomas was one of four sophomores named to the all-conference team.

“I couldn’t have done it without my teammates,” Thomas said. “We kept everything together as a team and worked together.”

Thomas has been playing basketball since third grade. He was named after the legendary Detroit Pistons guard – Isiah Thomas – by his parents.

Thomas said he enjoys playing for a MCHS program which finished with winning records in each of the last four years.

“Honestly, I love it,” Thomas said. “It’s enjoyable. It made me a better player, for sure.”