The Nemaha Central Middle School boys basketball team played on Tuesday, January 28 against the Hiawatha Red Hawks. The Thunder team traveled to Hiawatha for a 4:30 pm tip off.
The Thunder eighth grade A-team got the tip but the ball went to the Red Hawks. The Red Hawks had the first possession of the game. The NC team went on to take the lead 4 to 7 in the first quarter. NC was playing some good defense only letting them score 4 points. The second quarter was similar to the first quarter with Hiawatha scoring 5 points and NC scoring 7. Hiawatha's defense held NC to only scoring 7 points in the quarter. At the end of the half, the score of the game was 14-9, with the Thunder in the lead.
In the third quarter, the Thunder team was energetic and strong! They had an amazing quarter scoring 14 points while Hiawatha only scored 4 points. NC continued adding to the lead in the fourth quarter scoring 9 points and holding Hiawatha to 4. The Thunder team was victorious with a score of 37-17! The Thunder team remains strong and looks forward to the rest of the season.
Holden Bass said, "We didn’t come ready to play, but we played as a team and won."
The Nemaha Central seventh grade tip off was directly after the eighth grade boys game. The Thunder lost the tip and the Red Hawks got possession of the ball. The Thunder was held to only two points in the first quarter and they allowed the Red Hawks to score six points. The second quarter was a little better as the Thunder managed to score four points and held the Red Hawks to only five points.
The second half started and the Thunder came out scoring five points but the Red Hawks managed to score nine against the Thunder. The fourth quarter was the time the Thunder needed a comeback. The Thunder team scored eight points but could not stop the Red Hawks offense giving up 14 points.The final score was 19-34 with a Hiawatha win.
Spencer Lockhart said, "We kept turning the ball over and didn’t work together as a team."
Overall, the seventh and eighth grade boys are improving throughout the season.
Click on the link below for more pictures of the NC versus Hiawatha game.