3A Boys Sub State Semifinals Thursday from the Roundhouse in Hiawatha

Nemaha Central trailed most of the night before a 12-0 run in the fourth quarter and eight Raven turnovers propelled the Thunder to the win. 

Hiawatha also trailed most of the night but went up 51-44 with just over three minutes remaining, only to see Marysville score 14 straight points and finish the game.

Nemaha Central 48, MH-MA 44

It was a battle of the #2 and #3 seeds and Northeast Kansas League champ Maur Hill Mount Academy came in having won eight straight. The Ravens also had ended the Nemaha Central boys basketball season each of the last two years in Sub-State.

In Thursday's semifinal, the Ravens scored six straight points to grab a 6-2 early lead and would hold the lead until the final five minutes of the contest.  MH-MA had a 13-8 advantage after one and led 25-22 at halftime while taking their biggest lead of the night 37-30 late in the third period. The Thunder trailled 37-32 starting fourth quarter and scored 10 straight points to cap a 12-0 run and led 42-37. During that run, MH-MA committed eight turnovers after a total of just six turnovers in the first three quarters combined.  Nemaha made 6 of thier final 10 free throws to secure the victory. 

Now 16-6, Nemaha Central was led by the Beck brothers as Marcus scored 15 points and Kurtis added nine.  The two combined for 12 points during the fourth quarter when Nemaha outscored MH-MA 16-7. Andrew Leonard added six points and hit two clutch free throws with 25 seconds left to extend a two-possession margin.  

MH-MA was led by seniors Abe Siebenmorgen with 17 points and Jack Caudle with 9 while the only other senior starter Taylor Folsom chipped in six as the Ravens ended this season under first-year boys Coach Brad Kunecke 17-5 after posting 23 wins each of the last two years and reaching the 3A State Tournament.    

Marysville 58, Hiawatha 53

After three early ties and a couple lead changes, #1 seed Marysville controlled a 13-12 lead following the first quarter. They had the biggest lead of the game 24-14 late in the second period before Tyler Brockoff scored five straight points to pull the Redhawks within 24-19 at halftime. The Bulldogs maintained their lead through the third quarter, but trailing 39-36, #5 seed Hiawatha put together a 6-0 start to the fourth quarter to take the lead on their home court. Gavin Pieschl answered with a trey for the final tie of the night at 42 and it was game on down the stretch. 

The Hawks got three big buckets from Parker Winters before Michael Moreno made a driving basket and Sage Meyer hit a trey to cap a 9-2 run that had Hiawatha ahead 51-44 with just over three minutes to play. Yet, Marysville did blink as they scored the next 14 points including a trio of three-point plays as Koby Schroeder had a pair of and-one conversions in the final two minutes and Dalton Denner did the same. The Bulldogs took the lead back for good at 52-51 with 1:34 remaining and then finished the game by making 10 of 11 free throws to secure the win. The Dawgs were 18 of 25 from the charity stripe on the night, which helped overcome one of their worst three-point shooting games of the season.  Marsyville has made 174 triples this year (more than eight per game average), but connected just twice from deep in Thursday's semifinal.  

Matt Holle was 9-12 from the foul line to finish with a game high 19 points while Pieschl added 12 and Schroeder chipped in 10. The Bulldogs improved to 18-4 on the year and are one win away from advancing to a state tournament for the third time in the last four years. 

Hiawatha ended their season 12-10, one win better than last year and their most wins since 2009. The five senior starters combined for all but five of the total Hiawatha points as Tyler Brockoff and Sage Meyer each scored 15 and Winters had 8 while Moreno added six. Andrew Lierz was plagued by foul trouble and played less than two minutes in the second half before fouling out. 

The Saturday Sub State championship game at 7:30 will be broadcast on the MSC Sports Radio Network and is the third meeting this season between Marysville and Nemaha Central. The Bulldogs won the first game 66-41 in the Thunder Classic championship but four days later, Nemaha prevailed 46-42.