The Nemaha Central boys basketball team traveled to Riverside for a 4:30 pm tip-off on Thursday, February 20. This was the last game of the season and the Thunder boys were looking for a clean sweep.
Both teams got off to a slow start, but by the end of the first quarter, NC pulled ahead 7 to 4. The second quarter was about the same. The Cyclones scored 7 points while NC came away with 9 points. The first half ended with a score of Cyclones 11 and the Thunder 16.
The coaches must have said something to the team to make them come out strong. In the third quarter, both teams started off really fast with the Cyclones scoring 9 points and NC scoring 14. The fourth quarter was very slow scoring for both teams with the Cyclones scoring 5 and NC scoring 6. Both teams did very well, but the final score was NC 36 and Riverside 25. The Thunder eighth grade A-team had a record of 13-3 and finished the league in second place.
“I was sad to see the season end, but we did a great job and it was one fun season,” said Abe Hilbert.
The eighth grade B-team started right after the A-team game. NC wanted to keep their winning streak going. NC came out of the first quarter very energetic! NC started out very strong scoring 10 and holding the Cyclones to 2. In the second quarter, NC scored 14 and the Cyclones scored 0. At the end of the first half, the score was 24-2 with a strong Thunder lead.
The third quarter started very slow with NC scoring 6 and the Cyclones scoring 0. The fourth quarter started pretty slow, but then NC scored 9 points and the Cyclones scored 2. The final score was 39-4, another Thunder victory. The eighth grade B-team record for the season was 10-1.
“It was a fun season. I felt that we got better as the year went on. I can’t wait to watch these boys in high school,” said Mr. Bass.
The Nemaha Central seventh grade boys basketball team was ready to play ball. The game started off with a lot of offensive scoring with NC putting 13 on the board while Riverside put up 8. The scoring trend continued as the NC boys scored 19 points but played great defense and held their opponents to 5 points. The score at halftime was 32-13 with an NC lead.
In the third quarter, NC started great scoring 12 points and held the Cyclones to 9 points. In the final quarter, the game slowed down as NC scored 4 points while holding Riverside scoreless. The seventh grade A-team picked up their last victory of the season, 48-22. The seventh grade A-team record for the season was 6-10 with much improvement throughout the season.
The seventh grade B-team game was very a great way to end the season for the Thunder boys. They came out strong and offensively scored 42 points in the game. The Thunder defense also looked great as they held Riverside to 19 points. The seventh grade B-team had a record of 7-4 for the season.
“It was fun to play against friends and a great way to end the season,” said Kason Saenz.
Coach Schuyler Mayberry said, "This year was filled with ups and downs. The team we had at the beginning of the year was not the same one that we had at the end and for anyone who watched us play, they saw that. We improved so much and it was fun to watch these guys learn and grow as the season went along. I'm extremely proud of the guys for their efforts and for sticking together throughout the year."