The Nemaha Central Middle School Thunder basketball team had a great start to their season against Riverside and hoped to keep that going into their second game of the season against the Hiawatha Red Hawks. The Thunder played this game on their home court on Tuesday, January 12. The team looked to improve on their season with a win.
The first up was the 7th-grade team. The Thunder looked to keep their momentum from their first game of the season continuing throughout this game and the rest of their season. The first quarter was a slow one with the Thunder scoring just enough to take the lead with a score of 6-2. In the second quarter, the game picked up as each team started to get more shots to fall. The Thunder outscored the Red Hawks in the second quarter as the score heading into halftime was 13-8.
The third quarter was a tough one with each team playing hard on both ends of the court. Both teams added 5 points to their score and heading into the fourth quarter the score was 18-13 with the Thunder still in the lead. The fourth quarter was a fast and high scoring quarter. The Red Hawks were able to put up 9 points, but the Thunder countered with 13 points of their own. The game closed out with a score of 31-22 and another Thunder win.
In the 8th grade game, the Thunder boys came out feeling pretty good after their first win. However, they knew it wouldn’t be an easy game. The Thunder had traded games with the Red Hawks the year before but looked to try to get them both times this year. The Thunder came out with a slow start as the Red Hawks quickly took the lead. At the end of the first quarter, the score was 10-1 with the Thunder team trailing. The Thunder bounced back in the second and was able to cut the Red Hawk lead to 3 going into the half with a score of 18-15.
The Thunder looked to keep their momentum from the second quarter going into the third. They were able to put up 8 more points, but the Red Hawks scored 12 which would leave the score at 30-23 going into the fourth. The Thunder were unable to mount a comeback and fell to the Red Hawks with a score of 43-24.
In the B-team game, the Thunder came out hoping to try to pull out a second win. They came out in the first quarter and got stunned by the Red Hawks. They weren't able to find their way on either side of the court and ended the quarter with a score of 16-2. It was the same way for the Thunder in the second quarter as they still weren't able to get anything going and ended the half at a score of 34-4.
The Thunder were able to find their way a little better in the third quarter as the Red Hawks put up only 6 points. The Thunder also responded with 6 points of their own and heading into the fourth the score was 40-10. The Thunder team played good defense but weren't able to find anything on offense and ended up losing the game with a score of 44-12.
The Thunder started off strong on the night with a win, but after the next two games, they finished the night going 1-2 overall. The 7th-grade team still stands undefeated at 2-0. The 8th grade is looking to rebound after their loss as they are now 1-1 on the season. The B-team has shown some great spurts of play, but they are now 1-1 on the season also.
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