The Nemaha Central boys basketball team traveled to Elwood to duel the Riverside Cyclones on Monday, January 23. This was the sixth team the boys played and they were hoping to pick up some wins on the road.
The NC eighth grade A-team was cold to start the game, they only scored 4 points in the first quarter. The Thunder defense held up against the Cyclones only allowing them to score 5 points. The score was a close 4-5, with the Thunder hot on the Cyclones' tail at the end of the quarter. At the start of the second quarter, the Thunder started shifting gears. They doubled their points scored in the first quarter, while the defense pummeled the Cyclones' offense allowing only two buckets. Going into halftime the score was a tight 12-9 with the Thunder leading.
After halftime, the Thunder was burning on all cylinders. They put up 17 points while stomping the Cyclones' offense, allowing only 5 points. The score was 29-14 by the end of the third quarter. The hard work continued to pay off as the Thunder outscored the Cyclones by 3 points in the fourth quarter for the win 23-17.
Will Young said, “It was a slow start, but we came out with the win.”
After a good win for the Thunder A-team, the B-team started regulation. The Thunder burst out on defense allowing 0 points in the first quarter and putting up 6 of their own. The second quarter was a defensive one with 0 points scored on both sides. The score at halftime was 6-0 Thunder.
The third quarter started off strong with the Thunder scoring 6 and the Cyclones 0. With one more quarter to go, the Thunder was up by twelve. The Thunder team scored no points in the fourth, but the Cyclones scored a meager one point making the score 12-1 for another Thunder victory. The eighth grade boys swept the Cyclones.
The 7th grade A-team started off steady. Both teams were neck and neck with a score of 7-7 by the end of the first quarter. The second quarter was a tough one. The Thunder only put up 4 points while the Cyclones doubled them by scoring 8. The score was 11-15 with the Cyclones leading at halftime.
The third quarter started with both teams still cold from the halftime break. The Thunder put up 4 but the Cyclones outscored them by one. The score was 15-20, Cyclones. The fourth quarter came around quickly but the Thunder was ready. They put up 9 points while holding the Cyclones to a small increase of 4 points. By the end of the quarter, the score was tied at 24 apiece. The game was headed to overtime! In overtime, both teams played tough and no decision came out of the first overtime. The game headed to the second overtime, but unfortunately, the overtime did not go in the Thunder's favor as they lost a close game 28-29 to the Cyclones.
Camden Scism said, “We would have won if we had more rebounds.”
After that tough loss, the 7th grade B-team started. It was a fast start for the teams with the Thunder putting up 6 points and the Cyclones 7. The second quarter was better for the Thunder as they scored 8 points and only allowed the Cyclones 7. The score at halftime was 14-14.
The third quarter arrived and the Thunder was working hard for the lead. They put up 7 points and held the Cyclones to 5 points. The Thunder had managed to get the lead by 2, 21-19. The fourth quarter was the decider as both teams were on their last breath. The Thunder only put up 2 points and their defense couldn’t hold off the Cyclones as they put up 8. The final score was 23-27, for a close loss for the Thunder seventh grade.
The Thunder basketball team had a great night of basketball. The 8th grade teams won both of their games. The 7th grade teams played well but lost a couple of close ones. The Thunder hopes to get a clean sweep of Riverside the next time they meet.
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