The Nemaha Central Middle School boys basketball team traveled to Sabetha on Saturday, February 12 for an invitational tournament. The tournament included middle school teams from Atchison, Sabetha, Marysville, and Nemaha Central. The Thunder were looking to add another two wins to their undefeated season record.
The Thunder tipped off the tournament against the Atchison Phoenix. NC played tough in the first quarter but fell behind Atchison 8-16. In the second quarter, the Thunder rebounded slightly, scoring 13, and only allowed Atchison 10 points, making the score 21-26 going into the locker rooms for halftime.
The third quarter was very competitive, but the Thunder fell behind another point, scoring 7 compared to Atchison’s 8, making the score 34-28 in Atchison’s favor. In the fourth quarter, the Thunder gave everything they had but weren’t able to catch up to Atchison. The game ended with a score of 45-36 and the Thunder team suffered their first middle school basketball loss.
Eli Sudbeck said, “It was a tough game, but we gave it our all.”
NC faced off against the Marysville Bulldogs for their second game of the day. The Thunder got out to a quick, early first quarter lead, but the Bulldogs ended the first quarter with a 10-9 lead. In the second quarter, the Thunder team was determined to take back the lead, putting 17 points on the board while holding the Bulldogs to 4, making the halftime score 26-14.
Coming out of the locker room, the Thunder added another 4 points to their lead, scoring 12, and held the Bulldogs to 8, making the score 38-22. The fourth quarter was very slow and both teams were only able to score a combined 10 points. However, the Thunder were able to extend their lead by 2, taking a 44-26 victory.
“It was a good way to rebound after our first loss of the season,” said Layton Thomas.
The Thunder worked hard and left it all out on the court but weren’t able to maintain their perfect season. The Thunder are looking forward to the remainder of their season and hope to finish undefeated in league play.
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