The Nemaha Central Middle School boys basketball teams loaded the bus and headed to Sabetha to take on their rivals, the Sabetha Bluejays on Monday, February 10.
The eighth grade A-team boys were going into this game with the league championship on the line. The game started out pretty strong as NC scored seven points and Sabetha scored eleven. The second quarter was great with NC scoring ten and Sabetha only managing to get 7 points up on the board. The game was close at the half with Sabetha leading 18-17.
After halftime, the Thunder took the court to continue the game. They started strong but they just couldn't get the lead. They scored seven in the quarter, but Sabetha was able to add nine points. The fourth quarter needed to be great and it was, but the Thunder defense could have been better. The boys allowed Sabetha to score eleven points, but they only scored 8. The final score was NC 32 and Sabetha 38. The game was close but the Thunder came up a little bit short.
“We tried our best, but things didn’t go our way and they kept getting in our heads,” said Cooper Scott.
In the eighth grade B-team game, NC wanted to get revenge after getting beat at home the first time. The first quarter was great with NC scoring twelve points and Sabetha scoring eleven. The defense from both teams tightened as both teams only scored 3 points in the second quarter. NC held onto their 1 point lead at the half, 15-14.
The third quarter was another great quarter with NC putting ten points on the board and holding Sabetha to eight. The fourth quarter was good, but NC started to lose momentum and only scored nine points, however, Sabetha came up a little bit short to win the game scoring eleven. The final score was NC 34 and Sabetha 33, with NC taking the victory.
The seventh grade A-team was looking to get revenge after losing to Sabetha in their first meeting. The Thunder boys didn't get off on the right foot only scoring 2 points while allowing Sabetha to score eight. In the second quarter, Sabetha scored 13 and NC was scoreless. The halftime score was 21-2 with a strong Sabetha lead.
Going into the next quarter, NC needed to make a comeback and score some points. They only managed to score 4 points and Sabetha scored eight points. The fourth quarter was good with NC scoring seven, but Sabetha scored another eight points. The conclusion of the game was NC 13 and Sabetha 37.
The next game was the seventh grade B-team game. The first quarter was a slow start for both teams because NC only scored two points and Sabetha scored four points. The second quarter ended in a bad way with Sabetha holding NC scoreless. NC gave up seven points in the quarter and Sabetha had an 11-2 lead at halftime.
After halftime, the boys needed a comeback and they started strong scoring eleven points and holding Sabetha to two points. The game was tied at the end of the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, NC slowed down and lost their momentum and was held scoreless. NC allowed Sabetha to score four points on their defense making the final score 13-17 with a Sabetha victory.
“We did not play together and did not execute on offense and defense,” said Logan Kraisinger.
The night ended in three losses and one win, which was the eighth grade B-team who won by one point. The other three games were pretty close losses and great learning experiences for the Thunder teams.
Click the link below for more pictures of the games.