The Nemaha Central Middle School boys basketball team hosted the Jeff West Tigers on Thursday, February 10. This was the second time the Thunder had faced the Tigers this season.
During the first quarter of the eighth grade A-team game, both teams started great and the quarter ended with an 11-10 battle with the Thunder in the lead. At the start of the second quarter, Nemaha Central kept putting points on the board, while Jeff West took a step back from scoring. The half ended 19-15 in favor of the Thunder.
The Tigers came out of the locker room needing to put points on the board, and they did, scoring 11 points. The Thunder weren’t going to let the Tigers get away, scoring 9 of their own and ending the third quarter up, 28-26. Jeff West slowed down, while NC kept scoring in the fourth quarter to capture the victory 41-31.
At the start of the eighth-grade B-team game, NC came out scoring, while Jeff West struggled. When the first quarter concluded, the score was 10-4 with a Thunder lead. In the second quarter, the tides turned and Jeff West outscored the Thunder 11-4. Going into halftime, the score was 14-15 in the Tigers favor.
NC came out in the third quarter and put up 7 points, while the Tigers only scored 3 points. The score was 21-18 at the end of the third quarter with a close Thunder lead. During the fourth quarter, Jeff West outscored NC 15-5. The final buzzer sounded, and the game ended with a 26-33 Tiger victory.
“We had a good game, but couldn’t finish the job,” said Cole Lyons.
In the seventh grade A-team game, the Thunder started off hot in the first quarter, while Jeff West couldn’t get anything going. The opening quarter ended 13-2 in favor of NC. During the second quarter, the Thunder scored 6 points and Jeff West still struggled to score, only putting up 2 points. Going into halftime, the score was 19-4 with a commanding Thunder lead.
Coming out after halftime, NC only scored 3 points, while the Tigers scored 5 points. The score going into the last quarter was 22-9 Thunder. The Thunder held onto their lead outscoring Jeff West 8-7 in the fourth quarter. The final score was a 30-16 Thunder victory.
“We played hard, it was a good game, and we pulled through with the win,” said Brady Koch.
During the seventh-grade B-team game, NC got out to a quick lead. The quarter ended with a score of 7-4. Jeff West came out scoring in the second quarter to take the lead in the game with a halftime score of 9-13.
Coming out of the break, Jeff West outscored the Thunder 8-2. The score was 11-21 at the end of the third quarter. The Thunder tried to bring it back in the last quarter scoring 6 points to Jeff West’s 1, however, it wasn’t enough as they fell to the Tigers 22-17.
In conclusion, all teams tried their best with two teams winning. The Thunder teams hope to keep up the good work for the rest of their season.
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