The Hiawatha boys basketball team wrapped up play at the 12th Annual Thunder Classic on Friday night with a third-place finish, earning a hard-fought 61–54 victory over Nemaha Central.

Class 3A No. 6 Hiawatha opened the tournament earlier in the week with a 64–41 win over Troy before suffering a narrow 58–54 loss to Class 2A No. 9 St. Marys in the semifinals. The setback marked just the Redhawks’ second loss of the season.

Nemaha Central’s tournament appearance began in the semifinals, where the Thunder fell to Class 4A No. 1 Rock Creek, 66–45.

Braylen Siebenmorgen led Hiawatha throughout the tournament and delivered a standout performance in the third-place game. Siebenmorgen finished with 24 points and eight rebounds against Nemaha Central after recording 25 points and 12 rebounds versus Troy and 18 points in the semifinal loss to St. Marys.

Ethan Morton also provided consistent scoring for the Redhawks, contributing 10 points against Troy, 16 against St. Marys, and 12 in the win over Nemaha Central.

For the Thunder, Kalem Schmelzle paced the scoring effort with 17 points, while Jack Macke added 13. Mason Schultejans scored eight points off the bench against Hiawatha after leading Nemaha Central with 17 points in its semifinal loss to top-ranked Rock Creek.