With Flint Hills dropping out of the 5th annual Thunder Classic less than 24 hours before opening tip-off, top seed St. Mary's received a first round bye and the opening round games were all moved ahead one hour on Tuesday in Seneca.  

#5 seed Falls City 49, #4 seed Jackson Heights 44

In a defensive battle, Falls City led 11-7 after one quarter and 27-19 at halftime.  The Tigers stretched the lead to 16 and 39-23 in the third quarter and led by 12 heading into the fourth.  That's when Jackson Heights came to life with a 12-0 run capped by Kolby Rethman's three-pointer to tie the score at 42.  Falls City only made one field goal in the fourth quarter, but connected on 7 of 8 free throws to hold on for the win.  The Tigers were 16 of 21 from the foul line for the game while Jackson Heights was just 4 of 6.  

The Tigers improved to 5-8 on the season as Caden Simon had 12 points, Kade Bredemeyer and Cade Schawang each delivered 10 and Collin Cook added eight.  Lane Thomas scored 10 of his 14 in the second half while Tyrell Childs and Levi Olberding each chipped in 10 for the Cobras who fell to 5-4 on the season with their third loss in the last four games.  

# 2 seed Marysville 65. # 7 seed Horton 23

Marysville jumped to a 20-0 lead after one quarter and never looked back, leading 36-9 at halftime and outscoring Horton in every quarter of the game.  The Bulldogs are now 8-2 on the season and got three triples and 13 points each from Gavin Pieschl and Dalton Denner.  Matt Holle added 10 and helped Marysville dominate the rebounds.  Noah Isaacs had six points to lead Horton who is now 1-9 on the season and was plagued by 29 turnovers.  

#3 seed Nemaha Central 64, # 6 seed Atchison 58

Nemaha Central led from start to finish after jumping to a 6-0 lead, but could never put Atchison away.  The biggest difference in this game was free throw shooting and the Redmen, making their first Thunder Classic appearance struggled to adjust to a more tighly officiated game and committed a ton of fouls with their aggressive full court pressure defense.  That led to Nemaha getting 40 free throws, but only making 21 while Atchison was a mere 8 of 10 at the stripe.  

Matt Baumgartner had a huge game with 22 points for the Thunder and was recognized at halftime for his Shrine Bowl football selection.  Cole Kramer added nine points and Andrew Leonard had eight while also locking down star freshman, Christian Bowen-Webb in a box and one defense.  Nemaha improved to 6-4 on the season. 

Atchison is now 2-7 with Bowen Webb still getting 25 tough points and Xavier Cushinberrry adding 17.  

Citizens State Bank and Trust Company of Hiawatha "Players to Bank On:"

Cade Schawang of Falls City, Matt Holle of Marysville and Matt Baumgartner from Nemaha Central.  

Thursday, January 17th schedule

Jackson Heights - bye
Atchison vs. Horton 4:00 PM cosolation
Falls City vs. St. Mary's 5:30 PM semifinal
Nemaha Central vs. Marysvile 7:00 PM semifinal