2016 Thunder Classic Boys Tournament (at Nemaha Central) Bracket - click here

On a wintry Tuesday that saw many mid-season basketball tournaments postponed the Thunder Classic got underway with first round competition in Seneca and three of the four contests were tight affairs down to the wire and the other a blowout.  

Hiawatha vs. St. Mary's   (St. Mary's won 53-50) 

The winter weather slowed things down at outside the start of the Thunder Classic was a slow one too as both Hiawatha and St. Mary's struggled out of the gates in the first game of the day in Seneca. St. Mary's manage a 7-2 lead in the first quarter and several minutes went by without each team scoring until at the buzzer to end the first Ethan Pierce hit a three-pointer for Hiawatha and trailed just 7-5 at the end of one quarter. In the second that game was worked to a tie at 13-13 and the Red Hawks took their first lead of the contest up 17-16 forcing a St. Mary's timeout. The lead traded hands through the final minutes of the first half and both teams had an opportunity to hold a lead at halftime but it went into intermission tied at 22-22. 

In the second half Hiawatha started to rain in three's in the third quarter hitting five in the quarter and took the lead, carrying a 41-39 lead into the final eight minutes. Down the home stretch of the contest St. Mary's took the lead from Hiawatha the Red Hawks were unable to get it back and down by three in the final seconds the Red Hawks missed a three at the buzzer that would have tied the game and fell 53-50 in the contest. 

The loss send Hiawatha to 3-6 on the year and they were led by Kunkel who scored 17 points earning him Citizen’s State Bank and Trust Company in downtown Hiawatha "Player to Bank On" on KNZA. Pierce and Troy May each tallied double figures as Pierce finished with 14 points, while May hit four three's for 12 points. 

St. Mary's was led by Jared Schoemann who scored 14 points, while Mitch Flanagan added 12 points on four three-pointers and Jeff Kleinsmith scored 10 points and the Bears improved to 6-3 on the season. 

Silver Lake vs. Falls City       (Falls City won 72-66)

In a high scoring affair the Falls City Tigers edged a feisty Silver Lake team in the opening round of the Thunder Classic 72-66 as the Tigers are looking to win the tournament for the second straight year. The Tigers pounced early leading 19-11 after the first quarter, but that lead went away in the second quarter multiple times. Falls City up 10-points late in the first half looked to be in control until an 8-0 run by Silver Lake to end the first half made it a two-point game at the half. The Tigers pounced again pushed the lead out and led by seven towards the end of third but a three-pointer by the Eagles cut the lead to four going into the final eight minutes. The Eagles continued to be pesky in the fourth quarter and got with one-point multiple times but behind free throwing shooting down the stretch including 10 straight in the fourth by Brandt Chapple secured the Tigers the win. 

Chapple led Falls City finishing with 29 points going 13-16 from the free throw line, while Kyle Leafty scored 18 points and Trent Pentecost posted 10 points as Falls City improved to 9-4 on the season. The Tigers as a team finished 20-28 from the free throw line in the contest. 

Silver Lake in the loss was led by Blake Hallacy who notched a 22 point performance hitting three three's and going 6-7 from the free throw line, while Keenan Baird scored 14 points and Mason Griffin scored 13 points. 

Marysville vs. Jackson Heights     (Marysville won 62-61 in Double Overtime) 

It wasn't your typical #1 vs. #8 seed matchup in this game as the higher classification and tougher tested Bulldogs played tight man-to-man defense and eeked out their third win of the season (3-8).  Marysville took a 16-5 lead after one quarter before an 11-0 Jackson Heights run to start the second period tie the score at 16.  The Dawgs were up two points and halftime, but the Cobras claimed a 31-30 lead heading into the fourth quarter.  Both teams battled foul trouble throughout the contest and six players eventually fouled out.  

Jack Blumer scored his first six points of the game in the fourth quarter and put the Bulldogs ahead with :38 left.  Zane Richter answered for Jackson Heights with a tough layup that tied the score at 48 and Marysville could not get a shot off in the final 10 seconds of regulation.  The Cobras got up 5 points in overtime but committed a couple costly turnovers and Jayton Haggard had a three point play and free throw with 15 second left to give Marysville back a 58-57 advantage.  Richter again answered for the Cobras by making another driving basket to cap his 9 point overtime period that included a pair of his six treys early in the extra session.  Yet, Gabe Pieschl was fouled with less than one second remaining and hit one of two free throws to force a second overtime.  

Richter became the fourth Cobra to foul out and point guard Westin Jacobsen had to depart with a shoulder injury as no Jackson Heights starters were able to play in the final overtime.  Both teams were out of gas and neither made a field goal in the final four minutes.  Jackson Heights did get a couple shot attempts off in the closing seconds and freshman, Lane Thomas was fouled with no time remaining on the clock.  With the undefeated Cobras trailing 62-60, Thomas stepped to the charity stripe and hit the first shot before a short delay and visit with the Marysville coaches.  Then, Thomas just missed the second attempt as Marysville completed the upset and thrilling victory.  

Richter and Olbering combined for 49 of the 61 Cobra points and all but two field goals.  Zane had 28 points and Wyatt 21, but the Cobras (8-1) had 19 turnovers including a couple crucial ones in overtime.  The lone senior on the team, Chase Green, had 16 points for Marysville while Haggard added 14 and Gabe Pieschl chipped in 12.  Adam Lindhorst added 9 and Jack Blumer had 8.  Haggard had 6 points in the overtime session and was named the "Player to Bank On," sponsored by the Citizens State Bank and Trust Company in downtown Hiawatha.

Nemaha Central vs. Horton          (Nemaha Central won 59-28) 

This was the only game that wasn't highly contested as Citizens State Bank and Trust Company "Player to Bank on," Tristan Allen, came out and made a trio of trifecta's in the first quarter and Nemaha built a 17-8 first quarter lead.  Nine different Thunder players scored in the first half as Nemaha Central went ahead 33-17 at halftime and cruised to the win behind six made treys.  Allen finished with 16 points and Luke Holthaus added 14 as the Thunder improved to 7-3 on the season.  Sage Lewis had 9 for the Chargers who fall to 5-4 with their third loss in a row and never seemed to match the energy level or make a run at Nemaha after falling down early in the quarterfinal.