The Nemaha Central Middle School boys basketball team headed to Sabetha to face off against the Bluejays on Monday, February 20. This was the last game of the NC boys season and they hoped to end with a win.
The NC eighth grade A-team was slow to start as they only scored 3 points in the first quarter. The Bluejays started out strong as they scored 12 points. The ending score of the first quarter was 3-12. Going into the second quarter with determination, the Thunder boys managed to score 7 points, while their defense held the Bluejays to 6 points. The Thunder team was trailing at halftime with a score of 10-18.
The NC A-team boys came out after halftime with a lot of intensity. The NC boys were able to put 8 points on the board and the boys stepped up their defense and held the Bluejays to 2 points. The score at the end of the third quarter was 18-20. Unable to stay close to the Bluejays, the Thunder only managed to score 5 points in the final quarter. The Thunder team was not able to maintain a strong defense as the Bluejays scored 16 points. The ending score of the game was 23-36 with Sabetha getting the win.
The NC B-team boys started off on top scoring 4 points while holding the Bluejays to 2 points. Heading into the second quarter ahead 4-2, the NC offense was strong scoring 10 points. Just like their offense, the boys had a tenacious defense limiting the Bluejays to only 2 points. The NC boys ended the first half in the lead, 14-4.
Heading into the third quarter, the Thunder increased their lead to 16 points by scoring 9 and holding the Bluejays to only 3 points. The ending score of the third quarter was 23-7. Hoping to maintain their lead, the NC team started the fourth quarter with resilience. The Thunder ended up only scoring 2 points, while the Bluejay's offense scored 6 points. The NC boys, fortunately, got the win with an ending score of 25-13.
Isaac Heinen said, “We played really well and finished off a great season!”
The seventh grade A-team started off with a close battle with Sabetha as the score was tied at the end of the first quarter, 7-7. Rushing into the second quarter, the Thunder made 5 points, while the Bluejays took the lead scoring 9. Heading into halftime the score was 12-16 with the Thunder trailing.
In the second half, Sabetha was putting up a tough fight. NC scored 3 points and Sabetha scored 10 points to finish the third quarter with a score of 15-26. Going into the fourth quarter, the Thunder did not give up. The Sabetha defense allowed NC to score 11 points, while the Thunder let Sabetha score 10 points. Unfortunately, the win was out of grasp for the NC boys as the game ended, 26-36.
Cormik Hajek stated, “I think we could have played a lot better, but we definitely had a lot of effort.”
The seventh grade B-team boys got a head start on the Bluejays, scoring 13 points. At the end of the first quarter, the score was 13-6. Progressing into the second quarter, the Thunder boys shut Sabetha’s offense down, not letting them score. At the end of the half, the Thunder was leading 19-6.
Starting the second half, the NC boys' offense was tremendous in the third quarter. The Thunder boys scored 10 points while only allowing the Bluejays to score 5. The score leading into the fourth quarter was 29-11. The Thunder had lockdown defense and didn’t let Sabetha score any points in the last quarter. The Thunder offense was still hot as the game ended with a score of 38-11. This was a big Thunder win for the seventh grade B-team.
Although there weren’t wins all around, the Nemaha Central boys played well. The eighth grade A-team boys finished the season with a winning record of 11-3. The eighth grade B-team also had a successful season with a record of 10-2. The seventh grade A-team finished with a record of 9-5. Finally, the seventh grade B-team had a victorious and undefeated record of 12-0. Way to go NC boys on a triumphant season.
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