To finish off the month of January, the Nemaha Central Middle School boys basketball team traveled to Perry to face the Perry Lecompton Kaws on Thursday, January 30. This was the last road trip game of the season before the tournament.
The eighth-grade A-team played first, followed by the seventh-grade A-team and, lastly, a combined B-team game. All three of these games were played in Perry’s high school gymnasium.
The Nemaha Central eighth grade A-team played first to kick the evening off. The boys struggled to grab an early lead and couldn’t get ahead, ending the first quarter with the score set at 1-6, with the Thunder trailing. In the second quarter, the NC team focused a little more and tried harder, but struggled to pull ahead, going into halftime behind, 4-12.
The third quarter started off nerve-wracking with NC struggling to pull through, and both teams demonstrated some great defense, but in the end, the Thunder was outscored 5-7. Going into the fourth quarter, the score was 9-19, with the Thunder trailing. In the final quarter, the Thunder tried their best, but their best wasn’t enough for the tough competition that the Kaws posed. Despite their hard work, the Thunder eventually lost the game with the score of 18-27.
Trent Stuke, eighth grade, said, “We tried our best but we couldn’t quite get the win.”
After a tough loss from the eighth grade A-team, the Thunder seventh grade A-team was determined for a better outcome than the eighth graders’ game. Although the NC seventh grade team tried their best, they started the first quarter off on the wrong foot and only scored two points, as the Kaws scored six. While the second quarter score started at 2-6, the Thunder came back and showed up the Kaws, scoring seven points and only giving their opponent a chance to score two points. Going into halftime, the score was 9-8 with the Thunder in the lead.
The Thunder came out of halftime ready to play, increasing the lead a little by scoring eight points. The Kaws couldn’t keep up and ended the quarter only scoring six points. This made the score 17-14, with the Thunder on track for a win. However, the Thunder struggled to hold that lead in the fourth quarter, allowing Perry to score thirteen points on them. The Thunder team had fallen behind, and the boys only scored four more points in the quarter. The game ended with the Thunder losing, 21-27.
After two tough losses for the Thunder, it was finally time for the combined B-team game. This was a team of seventh and eighth graders mixed. In the first quarter, both teams were lagging on offense as NC scored 2 points and Perry scored 4. When the second quarter started, NC really fell far behind as their opponent scored eight points. Going into halftime, the score was not in the Thunder’s favor at 2-12.
In the second half of the game, the Thunder boys were still confident and tried their best. When the third quarter started, the Thunder picked up the pace, scoring five points. This boosted the competition level since the Kaws had only scored three points. This helped the Thunder get back in the game a bit. In the final quarter, the Thunder boys were encouraged by the outcome of the third quarter and scored the same amount of points as in the third quarter. Although the Thunder scored five points over Perry’s four in the last quarter, this still wasn’t enough to win the game. The game ended with another Thunder loss, 12-19.
“We had good chances to make shots, but we just couldn’t make them,” said Grady Schmelzle, seventh grade.
The Thunder team traveled back home after losing all games, so it was a tough night. The Thunder boys will continue improving in practice, and they are determined for a win sometime soon.
Article by: Jayla Nolte