The Nemaha Central seventh grade basketball team traveled to Riley County for their Big East Tournament that started on February 8, 2025. Nemaha Central played at Riley County’s Middle School and were looking to do better than they were seeded.
The first opponent for NC was Jeff West. The first quarter was high-scoring with both teams on fire. Nemaha Central scored a dozen points while the Tigers scored 11 points. Both teams were making baskets and playing right with each other throughout the second quarter. The score at halftime was knotted up at 23.
With the score tied, NC was looking to make a run in the third quarter. Both teams weren’t playing good defense, but playing great offense. Nemaha Central scored 11 points and allowed the Tigers to score 10 points. The Thunder needed to pick up their defense in the fourth quarter in order to win. They didn’t accomplish that goal as they gave up 11 points to the Tigers. The Thunder scored 10 points which meant that the game was headed to overtime. In overtime, NC stepped up their defense and only allowed the Tigers to score 1 point. The Thunder team was motivated to do well as they scored 13 points and won the ballgame. The final score was 57-45 after overtime play.
Levi Holthaus said, “It was really exciting to win in overtime because the whole game was intense until we pulled away!”
With the Thunder winning their first game, they faced off with Silver Lake next. In the first quarter, the Thunder team was struggling on offense and defense. The Thunder scored 3 points while the Eagles scored 15 points. The Thunder team played tighter defense in the second quarter, allowing the Eagles only 6 points. The Thunder added 4 points to their score, making the halftime score 7-21.
The Thunder couldn’t slow down the Eagle offense and their shots still were not falling. The score at the end of the third quarter was 11-34. The Thunder couldn’t turn things around and faced challenges in the fourth quarter. NC allowed the Eagles to add 14 points to their score and could only get 3 points for themselves. The Thunder lost the game 14-48.
Korbin Schmelzle said, “We learned not to come out thinking we were going to win by a lot.”
The seventh grade tournament resumed on Thursday, February 13 for the seventh grade boys. They once again traveled to Riley County.
The Thunder’s first matchup was against the Sabetha Bluejays. The Thunder came out scoring 6 points in the first quarter. The Thunder didn’t play the best defense but were only trailing by two. In the second quarter, NC played great on offense scoring 9 points, and they tightened up their defense so the Bluejays only managed 2 points. NC played great defense only allowing the Bluejays to score 2 points. The score at halftime was 15-12 and the Thunder were now in the lead.
In the third quarter, both teams were playing neck and neck as both teams scored 6 points each. In the last quarter of the game, the Thunder needed to continue playing well. However, NC had a rough quarter and only scored 5 points. The Bluejays were the opposite as they had a great quarter scoring 12 points. This was a heartbreaking loss for the Thunder with a score of 26-30.
Grant Heinen said, “It was a tough game all the way to the end, and it was a nail-biter.”
The last game for the NC seventh graders was against Rossville. The first quarter was difficult for the Thunder. NC couldn’t get many stops on defense and they allowed Rossville to score 12 points. NC didn’t play great on offense, but they did put up 6 points. The Thunder turned it around in the second quarter with solid defense and offense. NC managed to get 9 points, while the Bulldawgs scored 7 points in the second quarter. The Thunder team was behind in the game 15-19.
In the third quarter, NC got their shots to drop, scoring 11 points. The Bulldawgs were also getting their shots to fall and scored 12 points. NC had amazing shots in the fourth quarter as they scored 12 points. On defense, the Thunder team was able to contain the Bulldawgs and hold their scoring down to 5 points. NC pulled out a close win with a score of 38-36.
Ethan Jost said, “The comeback we made was great and our team was energetic!”
The Thunder had a great tournament going 2-2 and they finished the tournament in seventh place. Their record this season was 5-12, but they improved so much since their first game. The Thunder team was excited to end their season on a great note!
Article by: Kaden Sperfslage