The Nemaha Central Middle School basketball boys headed to Royal Valley on Monday, February 3, 2025. The Thunder basketball boys were playing in Royal Valley’s High School gymnasium. Nemaha Central was looking to get a big win on the road.
The first quarter of the eighth grade A-team was underway and both teams were struggling to defend each other as the teams were making basket after basket. The Thunder scored 10 points while the Panthers scored 13 points. The second quarter wasn’t the greatest for the Thunder. They allowed the Panthers to score 11 points, while the Panthers only allowed NC 5 points. The score at halftime was 15-24 with the Thunder team trailing.
In the third quarter, both teams were making basket after basket again. The Thunder scored 10 points while the Panthers scored 14. With the game's final quarter starting, the Thunder knew they had to play good defense and score points. However, they couldn’t stop the Panthers from scoring and allowed them 14 points. The Thunder only scored 6 points, ending the game with a loss. The final score was 31-52.
The eighth grade B-team was up after the eighth grade A-team. The first quarter was low-scoring with both teams playing great defense. The Thunder allowed zero points and scored three points. The second quarter wasn’t good for the Thunder. They couldn’t get any shots to fall or stop the Panthers from scoring. The score at halftime was 3-7 with the Panthers taking the lead.
In the third quarter, the Thunder were struggling on offense and defense. They allowed 6 points while scoring 0. The Thunder came out shooting in the fourth quarter and got their shots to fall. It was the same for the Panthers. The Thunder scored 7 points and allowed the Panthers to score 10. The Thunder team lost the game with a score of 10-23.
Aidan Henry said, “Even though we didn’t get the turnout we wanted, we still put up a good fight.”
The seventh grade A-team started the game out on fire. They scored 15 points and kept the Panthers down to 6 points. In the second quarter, the teams were playing neck-to-neck basketball. The Thunder scored 4 points and the Panthers scored 6 points. The score at halftime was 19-12 with a Thunder lead.
The Thunder and Panthers were playing well on offense in the third quarter. The Thunder did get outscored in the third quarter by four points. The ending quarter score was tight at 26-23. The last quarter of the game was going to be a dogfight! The Thunder were playing well on offense and outscored the Panthers by one point. The final score was 34-30 with the Thunder getting a big win.
Then the seventh grade B-team was up. The first quarter was shaky for the Thunder, as they only scored one point. They allowed the Panthers to score 4 points. Then the second quarter was way better for the Thunder as they were playing great defense and making some baskets. The score at halftime was 7-6.
In the third quarter, neither team played good defense, but both were playing good offense. The Thunder scored 9 points and the Panthers scored 6. The last quarter of the game was about to happen with the Thunder leading by 4 points, 16-12. Both teams were playing back-and-forth basketball with good defense and offense. The Thunder put up 5 points and allowed the Panthers 3 points. The Thunder won the game with a final score of 21-15.
Heston Kramer said, “My favorite part was playing good defense.”
The seventh grade teams picked up hard-fought wins, and the eighth grade teams lost against a good team. The Thunder look to pick up some more wins before their season comes to an end.
Article by: Kaden Sperfslage