Nemaha Central traveled two hours west and defeated Concordia 55-48 to advance to the sub-state semifinals.

The Thunder got the 5-seed in the bracket and the Panthers got the 4-seed and it took overcoming an 11-point deficit to secure the victory.

In the first quarter, Concordia took advantage of Nemaha Central playing zone defense and made four three-pointers. The Panthers came into the game shooting over 36% from beyond the arc.

After another three in the first 30 seconds of the second quarter, they only made one point for the rest of the quarter after the Thunder switched to man-to-man defense.

After trailing by 11, Nemaha Central outscored Concordia 11-4 in the second quarter to get their deficit down to two at halftime.

Thunder senior guard Wade Leonard buried four threes in the first half to lead them in scoring going into the break with 12 points.

The third quarter was tight the whole way with Nemaha Central junior guard Carter Rottinghaus stepping up with seven points to help give them the lead.

In the fourth quarter, the Thunder’s defense continued to get stops only allowing three field goal makes. The Thunder took care of business at the free throw line with senior small forward Brayden Uphaus going 5-for-6 from the charity stripe in the final minute to advance in the tournament.

It was an incredible coaching performance from Nemaha Central head coach Jon Thomas. His ability to make the required adjustments defensively is what won them the game. The players went out and executed the plan to perfection as well.

Leonard and Rottinghaus both scored 15 points apiece. They both get the “Player to Bank On” award brought to you by Farmers State Bank.

Senior guard Gavin Cain had an additional ten points for the Thunder. Junior forward Abe Hilbert also had nine points.

Concordia was led by junior guards Joey Henderson and Payton Breese with 12 points. Breese made three threes in the first quarter and didn’t make another until they were down three possessions in the final two minutes of the game.

Nemaha Central will play top-seed and unbeaten Sabetha in the semifinal round of the Marysville sub-state tournament on Friday evening at 7:30 p.m.